Amnesia and Babies Don't Mix
by Dr. Pyro
Summary: McGibbs w/ Fem!Tim, Tag to Hiatus Part II. Gibbs leaving when he didn't have all of his memories back was probably his biggest mistake. And when the memories do come back... He has to answer to Timothea McGee.
1. His Biggest Mistake

**I'm shocked by the total lack of Fem!Tim stories! I wrote one a few days ago, but I was forced to delete it or be banned from the site. So this first chapter is the story I wrote before, but I rewrote it so it could stay up. I dedicate it to the people who reviewed my first story and encouraged me to write a sequel. You know who you are, and you're all awesome!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not a boy. My name isn't Don. I can't spell Bellisario without spell check. I don't own NCIS. All I own is Patricia and a self-designed NCIS Native American bead bracelet.  
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><p>An unbearable ache had taken up residence in the place where Timmi's heart used to be. Jethro had abandoned her. Left her to the metaphorical wolves. Though, if there had been any wolves, she would have gladly taken the time to feed him to them... After cutting him into little pieces no bigger than her thumbnail of course.<p>

In his defense, he didn't remember her… But it _hurt_ that he didn't… It hurt so badly Timmi felt she would die from the pain of it. Jethro remembered her as a person, but not a lover. _How?_ How could he remember his ex-wives to whom he never spoke, but couldn't remember the only person he had loved romantically since the death of his first wife and daughter?

He had only ever loved Shannon, and Timmi didn't blame him. It made sense, at least to her, that he still held a torch for Shannon. She had been everything to him and then she was suddenly gone, along with their only child. Many people would break under such tragedy… But never Jethro, he was too stubborn to break under such things... But he had cracked. The emotional scars had left him incapable of loving anyone like he had loved them.

Until he had met her. Their connection was instant, their first touch was electrifying, and their first kiss was the finale of a 4th of July fireworks display. Of course, after the kiss he had avoided her like she was one of his ex-wives. Timmi had waited two weeks before cornering him in his basement, demanding to know why he had kissed her as it was _clearly_ obvious that he didn't think of her like that. She ranted and yelled at him until he had pulled her to him and kissed her senseless. They had both called in sick the next day after deciding they had _much_ better things to do.

'Where is he now?' Timmi wondered, 'Is he happy? Does he even have a clue of how much he's hurt everyone?' Especially her. It might have been three weeks since he had left, but she knew she would forgive him a thousand times if he would just _walk _through the door. She would forget every hurt, every pain, and every sorrow he had caused in the past three weeks if he would return. And that made her so angry. How could she be so weak as to even _think_ about forgiving him?

The team understood his horror at the massacre that nobody tried to stop, how could they not? But unlike them, he had lost hope. He had relived too much hurt all at once and it had broken him. He had finally broken; her beautiful strong Marine had broken like criminals in interrogation did after they met Ziva. She only hoped he could be fixed because, without him, they were lost.

The ringing of her cell phone derailed her train of thought. Glancing at the number displayed on the screen she hurriedly answered it.

"Hello?"

"Timmi, it's Patricia from Dr. Hansen's office. I'm calling about your appointment earlier."

"Oh God," Timmi groaned, "I'm so sorry! I forgot about it..."

"It's okay; I just need to set up a new one for you."

Timmi's eyebrow shot upward. "Isn't that _my_ job?"

"I thought I would save you the trouble dear," was the cheerful reply.

"Or, you heard what happened to Jethro and you want details."

"You caught me. What can you tell me?"

"Patricia! You know I can't tell you anything," Timmi scolded, "It's an investigation."

"Not about the case," was the reply, "Though I _would_ love to hear about that. I want to know what happened to Jethro. I need some new gossip to share at my next bridge game."

"_Patricia_!"

"What? I told you I didn't mean the case!"

"It's not that," Timmi pinched the bridge of her nose and took a deep breath, "You want to tell the ladies you play bridge with about some strange agent they don't even know?"

"Sweetheart, they know all about Jethro... And you for that matter."

"What! Why?"

"Timmi dear, you and Jethro are an anomaly, and anomalies make the best gossip."

"How are we an anomaly?"

"Let's see... He's old enough to be your father..."

"Age doesn't matter to me."

"All of his past loves have been redheads and you're a brunette..."

"We passed the physical looks phase a long time ago."

"You're polar opposites..."

"Hey, opposites attract!"

"And you're completely dedicated to each other... It's a wonder you aren't married yet."

"How is being dedicated to each other an anomaly? And just so you know, we aren't... _weren't_ ready for marriage."

"It's not an anomaly, but it is rather rare... Wait, weren't?"

Tears welled up in Timmi's eyes as she heard the concerned shock in Patricia's voice. She struggled to swallow the lump that had taken up residence in her throat, finally choking out the words, "He left Patricia... He left me, he left the team, and... He left the baby."

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><p><strong>Updates will be sporadic at best. I don't have the time to update on a regular schedule. Sorry, but school comes first! Oh, what do you guys want the gender of the baby to be? I would also like name suggestions but, hey, whatever floats your boat.<strong>


	2. Big Brothers Rule

**Whooo! I finally had time to write! My life has been so busy it isn't even funny... Thank my sister for having to take a test at the testing center after class... After I had been out of my test for an hour and a half! Without her, this chapter would be even later. To those who asked about me being banned: I had apparently broken one of the site rules... No songfics with lyrics that aren't public domain. The consequences of breaking the rules: The story is taken down and the author is banned from the site. I didn't want that to happen to me, so I did as the rule enforcer asked. If you want to read my one shot songfic, you can find it on NFA. **

_**Edit**_**: I had to edit it. I reread this chapter and I cringed. It didn't flow right, they weren't in character and Tony came to the pregnancy conclusion waaaaaay to fast. So now it makes more sense! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I have this awesome plan to get the rights to NCIS. It involves pirates, an anchovy pizza, bubblegum toothpaste, a cowboy hat, and a wookie. Sadly, as the plan has not yet been put into action, Don Bellisario still owns NCIS.**

Tony had always known that he and McGee would never work out. They had wanted different things, had different interests, and their maturity levels were as different as Gibbs' and Abby's definitions of fun. But they had had a lot of fun together, so much so that when they broke up, they remained best friends. Not to mention they had both decided to end it... A mutual breakup they called it. It had been a novel experience for him as he was used to being the dumper. He had heard about mutual breakups, though to be honest it was from movies. He had never actually participated in a mutual breakup, or even heard of one happening in real life.

But then again, had they ever really broken up? They still spent hours together, ate together, and teased each other mercilessly. Really the only thing that had changed was that they no longer slept together. They still sang together, danced together, and pretty much acted like idiots... When he actually got Timmi to act like an idiot (which was surprisingly often).

But then again, did they ever really date? They had always acted more like siblings then a couple. He vividly remembered the time they had been arguing over lunch in a diner. Their waitress had actually asked them if they were related. That had been the beginning of the end.

Really though, he had known from the beginning that there wasn't a future for them. But he never expected that there wasn't a future for the Bossman and McGee.

The day they both called in sick, he had immediately known what had happened. He had seen the tension that had been lurking between them for two weeks, a blind man could have seen it! Timmi wasn't telling anyone what had happened, and Abby got so exasperated that she hacked into the security footage from the bullpen. And after inviting Ducky, Jimmy, Tony, and, surprisingly, Ziva to the lab, they watched the tape. It had begun rather innocently. Gibbs was obviously lost in thought as he stared at what used to be Kate's desk. Timmi had tears running down her cheeks as she typed, occasionally looking over at the object of Gibbs' attention. Then, suddenly, Gibbs stood up and walked over to Timmi, who stood up to face him. They were absolutely shocked when they watched Gibbs grab Timmi by the waist, pull her close, and kiss her thoroughly.

After getting over their collective shock (and stopping Abby's continuous squealing), they all made their way up into the bullpen. To their surprise, Gibbs had left and Timmi wasn't far behind. She could tell by the looks on their faces that they knew what had happened and before they could do anything she said, "I'm on it guys" and left. That had been the last time they saw her that week. They had been lucky they weren't on call that weekend.

When they saw her and Gibbs the next week, they were ridiculously happy. It was kind of weird though, because Gibbs was their surrogate father and so that made Timmi the awesome mom that everyone wanted. The only problem with that was that she was the youngest of their group. It took a little getting used to, but going to see the boss was even better now because while you were talking to him, Timmi was upstairs digging your favorite treats out of the freezer.

So, three weeks ago, when the Boss left them standing in the bullpen, his heart had broken for his friend and surrogate mother. She had endured bad boyfriends before, but she had never had her heart broken this badly. She had thrown herself into their relationship because she felt it was right, but Tony knew that she was probably seriously regretting it now.

A tentative knock on his door caught his attention. He quickly opened it to reveal a tearful McGee.

"Timmi! What are you doing here?"

"I'm sorry for bothering you Tony," she said, her lips trembling with emotion. "I-I just couldn't think of anywhere else to go." Her voice breaking on the last word.

He groaned in sympathy as she burst into soul shattering sobs. Tony caught her as she sank to the ground and pulled her into a hug. She grabbed fistfuls of his shirt and pressed her face into the fabric as she continued to sob. They stood on his doorstep for five minutes before Timmi pulled back from his hug and wiped her tears away.

"Can we go inside now?" she asked shakily.

"Wha- Of course! Get in here," was his surprised reply.

"Thank you Tony," she said as she stepped into his apartment.

After closing the door, Tony went into his kitchen and grabbed two glasses along with a bottle of white wine, Timmi's favorite alcohol. He found her in his living room looking a little lost while sitting on his couch.

"Here partner," he said holding up the wine, "This'll make it a little better."

"NO!"

He dropped the wine glasses in shock as he stared at the woman who looked panicked at the very thought of drinking. They shattered spectacularly.

"What? Why? You always have a drink when you come over."

"I- I don't... I just don't want to get drunk alright?"

"One pick-me-up won't get you plastered Timmi..." he looked at her closely, "Most people would have already gotten drunk and had several hangovers by now."

Her nervous laugh startled him.

"Well Tony, I'm not most people."

She was hiding something... Something big.

"Timmi," he started slowly as an idea struck, "Why did you come here? You never ask for comfort from anybody but Gi-"

"Don't say his name!" Timmi screamed as she jumped to her feet with her fists clenched, "The bastard left me! He just left! I won't ever forgive him for this!"

"McGee!" he said shocked. He had never seen her think of herself first, it was always others she thought of. He thought she would have been the most accepting of the situation, even if it was only in public. He never could've predicted this response, mainly because it was so out of character for her.

"Just calm down," he coaxed, "You're old and your blood pressure is important."

Timmi snorted derisively as she threw herself onto his couch. "I'm younger than you are idiot and I, unlike you, have no history of severe injuries."

"Ha ha ha," Tony said sarcastically as he stooped down to pick up the biggest slivers of glass, "Look at what you made me do."

Timmi suddenly had an angelic look on her face. "I didn't make you do anything Tony," she said sweetly, "You did that yourself."

"With help from your vocal cords."

She waved a hand, dismissing the claim, before she suddenly sat up and breathed deeply through her nose.

"You ok?" Tony asked as he grabbed his broom and dustpan to sweep up the last of the glass.

When she shook her head no, he set the broom aside and walked over to her. But before he had even gotten halfway, she bolted for the bathroom. He clearly heard the sounds of her being violently sick. Quickly, he went to the kitchen and grabbed a glass of water before he went into the bathroom to find her retching over the toilet.

He crouched down next to her and waited until she had finished being sick before offering her the glass of water.

"Thanks," she said softly before she drained the glass.

Tony's mind was whirling, he had had a few ideas about what had made her so angry about the Boss leaving, but now he was certain.

"Are you pregnant Timmi?" he asked softly. Her head swung round to face him, her mouth agape. Her expression told him everything he needed to know.

"Goddammit Boss!" was the first of many imaginative curses flying from his mouth.

McGee stared in a kind of awe as she watched Tony swirl like a dervish around his apartment swearing in both Spanish and English. She knew he had a large vocabulary of four letter words, one simply didn't work with both LJ Gibbs and Ziva David and not have one, but he was using words she was sure even Ziva didn't know.

She followed him into his bedroom where he was describing the tortures he had in store for his surrogate father.

"I hope you won't be teaching the baby those," she said a little weakly.

Tony froze in the act of grabbing a suitcase down from his closet.

"I'm going to be a big brother," he breathed as her words and their meaning sunk in. "I'm going to be a big brother!"

**Yes Tony, you're gonna be a big brother! And from the feedback I got from my reviewers (Hi guys!) it looks like a bouncing baby boy is be written into the story. If you want this to change, give me a good reason and I'll consider it. Sorry, but ****Gottahavemyncis**** gave me the best reason to make the baby a boy. If you wanna know, go read the review. ;D So, what should the little angels name be? And should there be a McGibbs wedding?**


	3. Telling the Ninja

**Sorry about the long wait. Writers block sucks. I think it was that I was trying to make myself write. Trust me, the first draft was suuuuper bad. But, now this story is back and better than ever. (No seriously, I even edited the second chapter because I realized that it was unrealistic.) Well my excuses for not updating include writers block, school, no computer, and let's not forget the biggest thing in my life right now. See, my friend's mom recently found out that she has esophageal cancer. It was a huge shock for everyone. She was told by the doctors that she had six months to live if she didn't do treatments. I've been helping in every way that I can, mainly because the diagnosis brought back a lot of sad memories for me. Not to mention my friend has siblings who haven't even gone to kindergarten yet. This was the biggest reason that I haven't updated, but life in general helped too…. Now that my pity party is over, on with the story! **

**Disclaimer: I own it all… Really I do! The Easter Bunny gave me the rights to NCIS for Easter! And then I woke up. ;D**

Ziva hadn't known what to expect when Tony had called her in the middle of the night to say that he and Timmi were coming over to her home right then. She was used to Tony being bizarre but dragging Timmi into it this late at night was a rare occurrence. So when they finally knocked on her door at a quarter to midnight, she was nearly tearing her hair out from worry.

"We're here!" sang Tony in a sing-song voice as he pushed his way inside, his right arm draped around Timmi's shoulders.

"I can see that Tony," Ziva said dryly, "But what I want to know is why you have chosen such a horrible time to talk."

"It's an emergency."

"I do not believe it," was Ziva's immediate response.

"Why?"

"Because the last time you said something was an emergency, you could not find your copy of _The Blizzard of Oz_."

Timmi, who hadn't said a word yet, corrected Ziva absently. "Wizard. _The Wizard of Oz_, Ziva." Then she realized what was being said.

Turning quickly to Tony she examined his face. Seeing his embarrassment over the movie, she burst out laughing. Ziva looked rather shocked.

"What is wrong with this movie?" she asked in confusion.

"Nothing," Tony quickly said, steering the laughing Timmi into the kitchen.

"There must be something wrong. Timmi does not laugh like this over nothing."

"T-the mo-movie," Timmi choked out, "I-is a musical!"

"But it is still a movie is it not?" Ziva asked confused, "Why would Tony be so embarrassed about it if it is a movie?"

"I'm not embarrassed," said Tony stubbornly.

Timmi, who was finally calming down, snickered. "Then why is your face so red?"

"I've got a sunburn."

"You did not have one a minute ago," Ziva pointed out.

"Well, I've got very sensitive skin and the sudden blast of heat from your apartment burnt me quite severely."

"Oh grow up Tony, we all know you're embarrassed. Denying it won't do you any good," commented Timmi as she sat down at Ziva's table.

Tony opened his mouth to respond, but Ziva interrupted him.

"Not that this is not interesting, but why are you both here?"

"Ahhhhhh, the million dollar question."

Ziva's face instantly twisted in confusion.

"Million dollar question? I did not know such a thing existed."

Tony rolled his eyes and winked at Timmi, who started to giggle.

"Yes Ziva. This is so _important _that _anyone_ would pay a million dollars for the answer."

Ziva's confusion morphed into shock and she gasped... And then Tony and Timmi burst out laughing. Then she realized what they were doing.

"Ooooohhhh," she breathed, "I see. You are making a moth of me."

Her words made both of them laugh harder. Timmi was almost on the floor as she laughed so hard that she cried, and Tony was only upright because he was gripping the top of one of the chairs. Ziva's confusion mounted as she watched them make clowns of themselves.

"What did I say?"

The fact that she was honestly confused drove them to laugh even harder. Tony lost his grip on the chair and joined Timmi on the floor.

"Mockery," he gasped in between bursts of laughter, "Mockery... Ziva."

Now Ziva was very confused.

"My mistake was not that bad. Why is it so funny?"

Timmi wiped the tears off of her face and sat up on the floor.

"I'm sorry Ziva, everything seems funny right now. I hope we haven't hurt your feelings," she said as Tony continued to roll around on the floor like an idiot. Without looking away from Ziva, she punched him in the arm. He just laughed harder.

"No, you have not managed to hurt my feelings," Ziva said as she held out a hand to help Timmi off the floor. Timmi grabbed it and, after she was on her feet, she turned to look at Tony who was finally calming down.

"So," started Ziva as the two women stared at Tony, "How are you feeling? I know it must be hard without Gibbs around."

Timmi shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm fine," she said, "Just a little... lost"

"You do know what fine stands for right?" Tony asked as he use a chair to pull himself to his feet.

When both of the women shook their heads, he groaned.

"Come on! Have neither of you seen _The Italian Job_?"

Again the women shook their heads.

Tony sighed before he said, "Fine stands for Freaked out Insecure Neurotic Emotional."

Ziva nodded thoughtfully.

"It fits," she decided, "Though now I will never say that I am fine again."

Timmi nodded vigorously in approval.

Tony let the females ponder the acronym in silence for a few seconds before speaking.

"Now, let's get down to business," he said while rubbing his hands together, "Ziva, Timmi and I came over to tell you something _very _important."

"Is Gibbs coming back?"

"Not that I know of."

"Then it isn't that important."

"Actually Ziva," Timmi cut in, "What we have to tell you might be the very _reason _that Jethro comes back."

Ziva's eyes widened and a gigantic grin grew to cover her face.

"Well tell me!" she cried in excitement.

"I'm going to have a baby Ziva," Timmi said gently.

Ziva froze as her mind worked the statement over. Then she screamed and hugged Timmi tightly.

"Oh My God! You are pregnant!"

Timmi laughed loudly and hugged Ziva back.

"Yes, yes I am."

"Ohhhhh..." Ziva pulled back from the hug to study Timmi closely.

"How far along are you?" she asked.

"Yeah Timmi," interrupted Tony, "Exactly _how _far along are you?"

"Fifteen weeks tomorrow," Timmi replied, " I was going to tell you all sooner but then Jethro was in the explosion and..."

"Then he left," Ziva finished for her. Then her words registered in her brain.

"HE LEFT," she screamed once before lapsing into furious Hebrew. She quickly left the kitchen and the sudden silence rang eerily.

After a few seconds, Tony said, "She took that rather well I think. But she has to get in line to get to Gibbs. I'm not to give up my spot as number one."

**After months of toil, 'tis finished! The next one shouldn't take nearly as long, but I'll be gone for the next few days so no emails will reach me. **

**Thank you to everyone who review, but especially to the ones who submitted names for Baby Boy Gibbs. Each and every name was taken into careful consideration. I eventually decided on the name: Caelen Jackson Gibbs. What do you think? Tell me and if you hate, please tell me why and I may decide to change it.  
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	4. A Gibbs Interlude

**How excited are you guys for the new season next month? I'm super psyched! Though I'm nervous... I mean, WHERE THE HECK IS MCGEE?! If any of you know what happens to McGee, let me know before I have a mental break down.**

**Well, it's Gibbs turn to take the spotlight. Mexico must be so boring for a man of action such as he. Don't you agree? I was really happy to get all of your reviews. I thank you all for being so supportive and patient. Moving on (before I start to cry). **

**Disclaimer: If I owned NCIS, Tim would have been through the ringer. I mean almost dead like 34463874628378298473892 times over. I guess it's a good thing that I don't. ;D**

_He was standing in the basement. It was somehow different. 'Ah, now I see," he thought as he looked around, 'Nothing's here.' And he was right. The boat was gone, as were all of his tools, not to mention all of the little odds and ends that had accumulated over the years. He suddenly became aware of the faint sound of a baby crying. He unconsciously moved towards the wail. The stairs barely made an impression on him as he climbed them and in no time at all he found himself on the first floor._

_The cries were louder now and he was growing more worried by the minute. He made quick work of the floor. When it became clear that there wasn't a baby (crying or otherwise) in any of the downstairs rooms, he climbed the stairs to the second floor. The cries steadily grew louder as he made his way down the hall, checking rooms as he moved. He found himself standing outside the last room, Kelly's room._

_He cracked open the door and poked his head inside. Kelly was sitting in a little white rocker and she was holding a wailing bundle of blankets. As the door opened Kelly looked up and smiled at her father._

_"Hi Daddy," said the young redhead._

_"Hey Kells," he said as he opened the door and stepped inside the room, "What are you doing?"_

_The small girl giggled and said, "I'm playing house Daddy! I'm the Mommy and this," she held out the crying bundle, "Is my baby!"_

_He smiled and walked over to her. Kelly had already returned her attention to the baby._

_"Shhhhhhh," she said as she rocked back and forth. The baby ignored her._

_He smirked as he teased, "You must not be a very good mom if you can't get your baby to stop crying."_

_"Oh, Daddy," she said as she smiled up at him with knowing eyes, "I can't make him stop crying."_

_He was confused. "Why not?"_

_"Only you can do that, Daddy."_

_Now he was really confused. "Me? Why me?"_

_Kelly let out a small laugh. "Really Daddy? You know why!"_

_"No I don't."_

_Her icy blue eyes, so like his, grew serious as she stared up at him while she clutched the baby close to her chest. "But you do. You just won't remember."_

_He raised one eyebrow. "Won't?"_

_She stared steadily at him. "Yes," she said, "You can remember, but you refuse to."_

_His other eyebrow joined the first near his hairline. Kelly could read the disbelief on his face and she shook her head._

_"Oh, Daddy," she sighed, "Rule #45. You left a mess..."_ **(1)**

_His eyebrows were now setting a record breaking height. "I left a mess? When?"_

_Kelly just smiled and shook her head again. "You know you did and you know when you did. You just won't let yourself remember."_

_"Can't you just tell me what I have do to make it stop crying?" he asked as the wailing grew louder._

_Kelly sighed and shifted in the rocker to face him. "It's crying because you left," she said directly. The baby wailed even louder, as if in agreement._

_"I left?" was his confused reply._

_"Yes," she nodded, "And to make it stop, you have to go back and make things right."_

And then Leroy Jethro Gibbs awoke to the sun shining in his face. He simply sighed and turned his head away from the light and stared at the contents of his small bedroom. A wicker chair, a dresser, and the bed. It was pretty obvious that Mexico was no Washington D.C. For one, Mexico was _boring_. There was nothing to do except drink beer and sit on the beach all day. Well, there was the option of fixing up the shack that he was sharing with Mike but that would remind him to much of home. Not that he fixed houses all day, oh no. It was the feeling of wood under his hands again, working it, shaping it, helping it become something.

A knock on his door drove his thoughts away. He sat up as Mike opened his door and stepped inside.

"Hey Probie," Mike said as he stared at him, "You look a little sick. Another dream?"

Gibbs ground the heels of his palms in his eyes as he sighed. "How did you know?"

Mike let out a gruff chuckle. "You always look like you need to upchuck after one of those dreams."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Really?"

When Mike nodded he got up off of his bed and moved to the window across the room. He rested his elbows on the sill and stared at the ocean. 'The view is about the only perk of Mexico,' he thought as he reflected on his dream.

"What was it about this time?" asked Mike's gruff voice as he moved to his side.

Gibbs frustration was palpable as he rubbed his eyes again. "The same thing as last time," he said bitterly, "It was Kelly holding a baby telling me that I have to go back."

"Are you going to?"

"NO!" he shouted as he whirled to face Mike, "I _left _and I left for a good reason."

"True," Mike said as he continued to stare at the waves, "But you know that you're already wasting away and you've only been here for three weeks."

"Wasting away?" asked Gibbs, feeling insulted.

"That's right Probie," responded Mike, who looked a little amused at Gibbs' bruised ego. "I'm pretty sure you've lost a least five pounds since you got here."

"I have not," said Gibbs as he looked down at himself.

Mike just smirked and shook his head as he turned to leave. "Whatever helps you sleep at night Probie." He walked out, changed his mind and stuck his head back into the small room.

Gibbs had already turned back to the window but looked at him when he said, "I think you should go back, Probie. As soon as possible. Your people need you and from hearing all about them in the almost month you've been here, I know you need them to."

Gibbs was already shaking his head before he had even finished talking. "I can't go back Mike, not now. And I'm sure that my... DiNozzo's team," he corrected, "Is perfectly fine without me there to head slap them."

Mike just shrugged and said, "After listening to you talk about them incessantly for weeks, I'm not so sure that they are." And with that last remark, he left. As he walked down the hall, he pulled out his cell phone and pressed speed dial.

_"DiNozzo," _said the voice that answered on the third ring.

Mike wasted no time with pleasantries. "He's still having dreams but I don't think that he's any closer to goin' back there."

_"Just keep workin' him Mike. We need him back here as soon as possible."_

"You never told me why you need him so bad," said Mike conversationally.

_"He has a mess to clean up,"_ Tony replied coldly and hung up. Mike looked at his phone and smirked. 'Probie trained him well,' he thought as he put his phone back in his pocket. It was now time for plan B... He just had to think of it first.

**(1) Just to be clear, Gibbs does NOT need to go back and 'clean up' his 'mess'. What I'm trying to say is that he made a mess of things and now he has to make things right by going back, begging for forgiveness, and never leaving again.**

**I just _love _the idea of Tony and Mike conspiring against Gibbs (it's for his own good... No, really! It is!) what do you guys think? Well I have to go finish writing a paper I've been putting off while I've written this. But it was soooo worth it. (Just don't tell my teacher ;D) ****If you see any mistakes let me know!**


	5. Another Interlude: OB GYN

**Hello again! Have you guys all seen the premiere? I'll admit, I expected a little more Hurt!Tim, in fact, I believe that McGee was hurt a lot more than he was letting on. I mean come on! Stitches? That's it? After months of waiting, a complete absence of McGee spoilers, and many fan girl freak outs, we get _stitches_... Well played Bellisario, well played.**

**Disclaimer: See above. If I owned NCIS, stitches would be the least of McGee's worries.**

"Just wait here, Miss McGee," said the young blonde nurse as she lead her into the examination room, "Dr. Hansen will be with you momentarily."

Timmi stood in the middle of the room and looked around. It was rather large as examination rooms went and the light brown walls were covered in posters of fetal development. But before she was able to take in the full affect, Tony and Ziva had barreled into the room and fallen over each other.

"Tony, get off of me before I kill you with a popsicle stick," Ziva threatened from the floor.

Tony grimaced as he rolled off of her. "I don't even want to know how you'd do that," he said as he stood up.

Ziva smirked as she pushed herself off the floor. "Yes, the way it is done is quite," she paused dramatically, which was somewhat ruined by the fact that she was still picking herself off of the floor, "Messy."

Timmi closed her eyes and pinched the brow of her nose as they started to argue. "Remind me, why did I bring you guys?"

Tony turned toward her and grinned. "Because you love us," he said smoothly.

"And because we would have followed you here anyway," Ziva added as she turned slowly in a circle, looking closely at each of the posters.

"Ah. Yes. Now I remember," Timmi said as she watched them both. It had been a week since she had finally told them of her pregnancy. And in that short amount of time, they had both become as involved as a set of expecting parents. They had ganged up on her when she mentioned that she had an appointment with her OB GYN and had insisted that she take them both. 'And look how that turned out,' she thought as she stared. Tony had made his way over to the counter and was examining the various instruments. Ziva was cooing at a poster of a newborn baby. She shook her head in amusement.

"You guys are so," she started, but the door opened suddenly to reveal a tall redheaded woman. Her brown eyes immediately zeroed in on Timmi.

"Hello again, Miss McGee," she said with a smile as she stepped inside.

"Hello, Dr. Hansen," Timmi said as they shook hands.

"Who are your friends?" Dr. Hansen asked as she subtly guided Timmi over to the counter.

Tony, who had up to this point been starring in awe at the beautiful OB GYN, decided to interrupt.

"My name is Anthony DiNozzo," he said in a smooth voice as he stepped forward, "And you must be Dr. Hansen."

Dr. Hansen smiled and shook his outstretched hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. DiNozzo."

"Please," Tony said flirtatiously, "Call me Tony."

"Okay," she responded just as flirtatiously, "Tony."

Timmi and Ziva rolled their eyes at the couple. When Tony opened his mouth, probably to flirt some more, Ziva stepped forward quickly.

"Hello, Dr. Hansen" she said as she stuck out her hand, "I am Ziva David."

The doctor's attention was successfully diverted. As she was taking the time to shake Ziva's hand, Timmi kicked Tony in the shin.

"It's very nice to meet you Ziva," Dr. Hansen said as Tony grabbed his shin and hopped up and down. "It's alway fun for me to meet my patients friends," she continued as she turned back to Timmi. Tony immediately put his leg back down before the doctor could see.

"Yes well," Timmi smiled, "They're like family. I tell them everything and they were just so excited when I told them that I was pregnant that I had to bring them to meet you."

Both Tony and Ziva smiled proudly as she spoke. Dr. Hansen smiled too.

"Well," she said, "As much as you love them, they're going to have to leave while I'm examining you."

Both Ziva and Tony opened their mouths to argue, but one look at the glare Timmi gave them sent them quickly towards the waiting room.

Dr. Hansen called after them, "I'll call you back in when we're done here." And then she closed the door.

NCIS

45 minutes later, after Ziva had threatened Tony with death 59 times, Tony had flirted with almost every woman in the building, and they had both been chased by angry husbands, the door to the examination room popped open. Tony rolled off of the row of chairs he was lying on and Ziva whirled away from the window where she had been pretending to shoot people.

"You can come in now," Dr. Hansen said in amusement. Tony and Ziva raced each other to the door, and just like last time, they fell over each other. Ziva was on the bottom once again and she immediately began to threaten him. Make that 60 times.

Timmi shook her head while she smiled.

"How is everything doc?" Tony asked as he moved around the room, evading Ziva's grasp.

"Miss McGee and her baby are in perfect health," Dr. Hansen smiled.

Ziva and Tony both nodded happily.

"When will we be able to know the baby's sex?" Ziva asked.

"At Miss McGee's next appointment," Dr. Hansen answered, "Which you'll set up with Patricia before you leave today," she added to Timmi.

Timmi nodded in acknowledgement before she turned to her two friends. "Come on, I'll give you guys all the details on the way back to the Navy Yard."

Tony was confused. "Why are we going to the Navy Yard? We don't have work today."

"Yes, I know that," she said as they walked towards the receptionists desk, "But Ducky, Jimmy, and Abby are working today, and I need to tell them."

"You have not told them yet?" Ziva asked.

"No, Jethro and I were going to tell you all together, but you guys got to me first." She shook her head, "Personally, I blame the morning sickness. Tony wouldn't have figured it out and made me tell you if I hadn't gotten sick. Damn morning sickness. Why do they even call it that? It's all day sickness."

By this time they had made it to the desk.

"I agree," Patricia grinned, "And how are you today Timmi?"

"I'm good. I just need to set up my next appointment."

"Well," Patricia consulted the calendar, "There's an opening next month on the 26 at 1:00. Will that work?"

"Yes," Timmi said with a smile, "It's perfect."

"Good," Patricia said as she inputed it into the computer, "Now, we never did finish our conversation from the other day. So spill."

Timmi sighed in exasperation. But before she could tell her no, Tony stepped in.

"What do you want to know?" he asked as he leaned forward onto the counter.

Patricia smiled. "Everything."

NCIS

Half an hour later, the walked out to their car.

"You did not need to share so much Tony," Ziva said as she slipped into the front seat.

"What? She was curious."

"She was also twice your age and happily married," Timmi pointed out from the backseat.

"Ha ha," said Tony snidely as he pulled out onto the road, "I wasn't flirting."

"You could have fooled me," Ziva responded, making Timmi laugh.

Tony grimaced as he drove towards the Navy Yard.

"So how are you goin' to tell them?" he asked when the laughter had died.

Timmi suddenly grew solemn. "I've thought long and hard about this, and have decided on a plan of action."

"What?" Ziva and Tony chorused.

She let a smirk make its way slowly across her face.

"I'm gonna pull a Jethro."

"You mean, go in with guns blazing and hope you don't die?"

"Exactly."

**Ahh... Just so you know, I wrote all of this today. Be jealous. Oh, and do any of you know some good AU fics for Extreme Prejudice? 'Cause I'm gonna need an h/c fixin' soon.**


	6. The ME, His Assistant, and Abby

**Thank you for all of your reviews! It means a lot to hear from my readers. I wish I could update more often, but between school and everything else, I have almost no time. Sorry! But I do the best that I can. On a lighter note, I just have to let you guys know that my decision for Timmi to have a boy has been reinforced over the past little while. You see, I walked over to a family friends house just the other day for an important meeting and her sister-in-law and her nephew were there. He's turning 3 and I totally fell in love with him! I walked into the door and the first thing he did when he saw me was run up and give me the biggest hug. He wouldn't even let me put him down for 10 minutes, and after that I got to play with him for a while. He was just the sweetest thing! This chapter goes out to my new best friend, Spencer, the cutest, sweetest little boy who is now my inspiration for 3 year old Caelen. NO! The fic will not be covering the next three or so years. That's what sequels are for. *hint, hint***

**Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it. Simple as that.**

"Hello, Agent DiNozzo," the MP said as he looked at Tony's badge.

"Hey, Stan," the three of them chorused. Stan, confused and surprised, poked his head into the car. When he saw Ziva and Timmi, he smiled.

"And hello, Agents David and McGee," he said, shaking his head, "It's a wonder I didn't see you before."

"Aw, Stan," said Timmi from the backseat, "It's okay. Ziva and I are really good at hiding."

"You have to be when you're as beautiful as the two of you are. I mean, the thousands of men you must have chasing after you," Stan winked, making Timmi and Ziva giggle.

"Down boy," drawled Tony. "This one," he gestured to Ziva, "Is an Israeli assassin, and this one," he gestured to Timmi, "Is the boss's girl. Neither one is to be messed with."

Ziva and Timmi both scowled and gibbs-slapped him. Stan just laughed and gestured at them to drive on. Timmi's scowl slowly faded as they drove onto the Naval base.

"Tony, you do know that I'm not, 'the boss's girl'," she air quoted.

Tony calmly replied, "Yes you are. Just because he left everyone else doesn't mean he left you."

Timmi raised an eyebrow. "Um... Yeah, it kinda does. He didn't even remember me when he left."

"Exactly why he didn't leave you."

Ziva was now officially confused. "I do not understand," she said in a puzzled voice.

Timmi nodded. "I'm with Ziva on this one."

Tony pulled the car into a parking spot and shut off the car before he explained, "The boss didn't remember you when he left, right?"

Timmi rolled her eyes before she answered, "Yes. We just went over this, remember?"

Tony struck home with his next question, "How could he leave you, when he didn't know he had you?"

Both Ziva and Timmi froze, their minds blank. After a few seconds, Ziva shook her head and spoke.

"I see your point, Tony. But why are you defending him? A week ago you were ready to take a few friends to go and pinch him."

Tony's eyebrows creased in confusion before Timmi asked, "Do you mean lynch?"

Tony smirked. "Yes, that does sound more accurate. But to answer your question Ziva, I'm still quite open to the possibility of hurting him, but I know Gibbs, and he wouldn't leave family."

Timmi pointed out the obvious, "But you guys are family and he left you."

Tony nodded. "I thought about that too, but let's face it," he said, a slow smile making it's way across his face, "Gibbs never intended to leave forever."

"But did he not say goodbye?" asked Ziva.

Tony nodded wisely. "Indeed he did say goodbye, but what I heard was: 'I am taking a vacation from the stresses of life to sit on my ass and drink beer. I do not know when I will be back, but I will because I am a man of action who will waste away from madness if I do not get my daily dose of head slapping innocent Very Special Agents'," Tony paused while Timmi and Ziva laughed.

"What?" he asked, an innocent look on his face.

**NCIS**

Abby's lab was eerily silent as the trio walked through the door. The silence was deafening, while being creepy as well.

"Um... Abby?" called Timmi into the silence. There was a sudden movement from Abby office and the door slid open, revealing a very un-Abby Abby. Her hair was out of its usual pigtails and fell across her shoulders. Her eyes were conspicuously red and make-up less.

"What are you guys doing here?" she said in a croaky voice, "You all have the week off." Her only answer was a gigantic group hug that for once, wasn't initiated by her. The group stood there for a while, not making a sound, reveling in the feeling of comfort. The moment ended when the door to Abby's lab opened once more to reveal Jimmy and Ducky, who were both carrying a box of evidence from Autopsy.

Jimmy faltered when he saw the hug and tried to take a step backward, but nearly stepped on Ducky instead.

"Do watch where you are going, Mr. Palmer," Ducky exclaimed as he moved to avoid being crushed. He shook his head at his blushing assistant and looked over at the still hugging group.

"I understand that we all need comfort now that our fearless leader is gone, but I do so need your help right now, Abigail," he said as he placed his box on the metal table. The embrace was quickly broken as Tony moved to take the box away from a still blushing Palmer and as Abby walked over to examine what Ducky had brought her. Timmi and Ziva were left standing awkwardly in the middle of the lab. Ducky turned away from Abby as she started to pull the evidence bags out and faced Timmi and Ziva.

"Why are you three here?" he asked, "I was under the impression that the director had given you all the week off." Ducky's eyes suddenly narrowed in anger, "Did she pull you in to work a case? I had thought that she, of all people, would be more tactful than that."

Tony was quick to defend their boss. "No, nothing like that, Ducky," he said as he placed the other box next to the first one, "We just wanted to talk to you guys about something."

"Well, it will have to wait, Anthony. I have a full schedule for the rest of the day, and I'm sure that Abigail does too."

Abby nodded absently in agreement, her mind occupied with the objects in front of her. Tony looked over at Timmi and Ziva, not sure what to do next. Ziva shrugged and Timmi decided that now was the time to put her so called 'plan' into action. She grabbed Ziva's arm and walked over to Tony. After grabbing him too, she started to walk towards the door.

"Well then, we'll be getting out of your hair. It was nice to see you guys. Bye Ducky! Abby! Jimmy!" The door closed behind them, but then just a few seconds later, it opened once more as Timmi poked her head inside. "Oh! And I almost forgot to tell you, I'm pregnant!" she announced before removing herself once again.

Abby, Ducky, and Jimmy froze upon hearing her parting words and slowly turned to look at each other before Abby let out a piercing scream of pure joy. She ran to the door, pounding it when it didn't open fast enough, and out into the hall to find the three agents standing there with smirks on their faces. She threw herself at Timmi, nearly smothering her in her joy. Ducky and Jimmy weren't far behind Abby and, as soon as Abby allowed Timmi to breathe, hugged her as well.

Abby was squealing and jumping around like a maniac, before she threw herself at Tony and Ziva.

"How far along are you?" Jimmy asked as Abby strangled them. Timmy was currently being hugged to death by an overenthusiastic M.E., but managed to say, "16 weeks," before she was out of air.

Jimmy quickly made Ducky let her go so she could catch her breath. She gulped in air dramatically as Abby finally let Tony and Ziva go. Tony fell to the ground as Ziva wobbled dangerously.

"Why haven't you told us before?!" Abby asked as she continued making a fool of herself.

Timmi answered without thinking, "We were going to but then Jethro left." She clapped her hands to her mouth in horror as Abby's and Ducky's eyes narrowed dangerously. Jimmy quickly backed away from the two fuming scientists as they both started to growl.

Abby whirled into her lab as she screamed, this time in anger. Ducky stomped to the stairwell and down the stairs as he began to swear.

Timmi just shook her head at the reactions, "Why does everyone I know do that?" she complained to nobody in particular.

**And thus ends this particular chapter. And to those who want a different name for Baby Boy Gibbs, who said that Caelen was going to be an only child?**


	7. The Baby Sister and a Flashback

**It finally hit me how long this fic is going to be. But I have to admit that I'm PUMPED! I can't wait to get to the parts I've been dying to write. But, I've gone back and corrected the previous chapters so that they match up with my decided timeline. If I'm going to get this fic finished, I'm going to need some of you guys to let me know when it's been too long without an update. I've been spending more and more time on this but it isn't quite enough. Oh, and it took me FOREVER to decide on Timmi's pen name. I finally went with Gem Thecae (it's a word! Who knew?!) pronounced \Tha kay\ (not really, but I don't like the real pronunciation as a last name) ****which is an anagram of her name. Cyber Hug to whoever can tell me what version of her name I used! (Hint! Can partly be found in the chapter below!)**

**Disclaimer: I really hate this. I mean, if I owned NCIS, would I be writing this fic?**

Timmi walked across the college campus by herself, reveling in the warmth of the sun. It was only a few days after she had shared her news with her friends and she had decided that it was time to tell Sarah. A couple of co-eds were playing frisbee in a nearby field, while still others were sitting on the grass with books scattered about, trying to finish homework while enjoying the summer sun. It was to one of these groups that she made her way when she spotted a head of dark brown hair.

"Oh, Sarah," she sang as her heels clicked along the sidewalk. Sarah and her friends all looked up and gaped at her. Sarah was the first to recover, and she sprang up from her patch of grass to pull her sister into a hug.

"Hey, aren't you Gem Thecae?" said one of Sarah's friends. The two sisters pulled apart as Timmi smirked. "That's my pen name, yes," she said and Sarah's friends gasped in shock. Sarah just shook her head and introduced them.

"Timmi, these are my friends Kyle, Jack, Megan, and Willow. Guys, this is my big sister, Timothea McGee, also known as Gem Thecae."

Timmi stuck out her hand, "Please, just call me Timmi." The overawed co-eds shook her hand and then one of the girls spoke up.

"So, Gem Thecae is your pen name? How did you come up with it?"

Timmi smiled and said, "I made a list of anagrams from my name and made the mistake of asking my boyfriend what one I should use. He said that Gem Thecae fit me perfectly."

"Why?"

Timmi's smile softened and wistful. "Because, according to him, I'm a precious jewel and because I'm a geek."

Seeing the confusion on their faces, she explained. "When he was looking at the list of anagrams, he asked me if thecae was an actual word. I gave him this huge explanation about it and he just looked at me before saying that only a geek would know anything like that."

Sarah had heard this story before and took the opportunity to pull Timmi away while her friends laughed.

"Not that I don't love you sis, but what on earth are you doing here? You never come visit me at school."

"I know," Timmi shrugged, "But we really need to talk."

Sarah took a step back. "I didn't do it," she said as she put her hands in the air. Timmi's eyes narrowed.

"What didn't you do?" she asked suspiciously as she took a step forward. Sarah was confused.

"You mean you're not here to yell at me about..." she stopped herself just in time.

Timmi folded her arms and tapped her foot threateningly. "About what?" she asked, her voice deceptively calm.

"It doesn't matter," Sarah said quickly, "You said that we needed to talk."

Timmi didn't move a muscle as she asked again, "About what, Sarah?"

"Tell me what you want to talk about and then I'll tell you, deal?"

"Deal," said Timmi as she relaxed.

"So what do we need to talk about?"

"I'm pregnant."

Sarah said, "Oh," before Timmi's words registered in her brain and she froze. Timmi smiled at the reaction of her baby sister.

"Oh..." Sarah breathed before she smiled and hugged her sister.

"What, no screaming?" Timmi laughed.

"Not from me! When are you due?"

"November 22, but knowing our family history, the baby will probably come early."

Sarah snorted and let go of her sister, "With Gibbs as the father? Not likely." Timmi just shook her head and smiled.

"So, how did you find out?"

Timmi smirked as she related the 'harrowing' experience to her little sister. "Well, it all started on our weekend off a couple of months ago..."

**Flashback**

_Timmi groaned as she slowly awoke to the sun shining in her eyes. She was utterly exhausted just as she had been for a few days now. She became aware of someone watching her from the other side of the bed._

_"What're you doing," she asked without opening her eyes. A deep chuckle shook the chest that was her pillow._

_"I'm watching one of the most beautiful women in the world wake up," said the humor colored voice. She snorted and smacked his arm. His chuckling turned to laughter as she responded, "I don't feel very beautiful right now. Close the curtains and let me sleep for five more hours. Then we'll see how I feel."_

_The laughter trailed off before he said, "You've just slept for almost ten hours, Thea. You can't sleep much longer."_

_At that, Timmi opened her eyes and looked at the only man in the world who called her Thea. Leroy Jethro Gibbs stared back._

_She shook her head before saying, "I know that, but I just feel so damn tired lately. And don't call me Thea."_

_"Maybe you should see a doctor, Thea. Being this tired isn't good."_

_Timmi sighed and rubbed her eyes, "Jethro, your human side is showing. I don't need to see a doctor because I am simply _**_tired_**_, nothing more. And really, don't call me Thea."_

_Concern still lingered in his eyes, but he pushed it aside. "I'm going to call you Thea whether you like it or not. And do you know why?" he asked, his hands stealthily making their way to her sides._

_She rolled her eyes once more before reciting, "Timmi is a name for a little girl. Thea is a name for a woman."_

_He broke in, "And you, my dear Thea, are no little girl. You are definitely a woman." And with that, he began to tickle her. She shrieked in surprise and tried to squirm away from him. He followed her across the bed and continued his torture until she nearly fell off of the other side. He quickly grabbed her arm to keep her on the bed. They both gasped for air as they looked at each other before Timmi quickly moved her legs off the side of the bed and stood up._

_"I have to go to the bathroom," she said before she ran to said room._

_When she got out of the restroom, the master bedroom was empty and the smell of cooking bacon was making it's way upstairs. She inhaled deeply, realizing how hungry she was. She grabbed her robe before making her way downstairs. When she reached the kitchen, she was treated to the sight of Jethro making her breakfast. She smiled at the domesticity of the scene before moving forward to wrap her arms around her lover._

_But when she reached the doorway her smile faltered as the smell of freshly brewed coffee met her nostrils. Nausea bloomed suddenly and she clapped a hand to her mouth as she hurried to the sink. Gibbs turned towards her just in time to see her be violently sick into the sink. He quickly made his way over and pulled back her hair as he rubbed her back._

_"Are you okay," he asked as she grabbed at him for support. She shook her head, her face white._

_"I think it might be a good idea to see that doctor, Jethro," she whispered. He nodded, his face concerned as he led her up the stairs to lay down before he pulled out his phone to call the doctor._

_**NCIS**  
><em>

_A few hours later, they sat in the waiting room of a nearby doctor's office. They had been lucky that the doctor had an open appointment, but neither of them were feeling very lucky. Timmi had had to run to the bathroom twice already just so she could be sick in private. The couple were sitting together on a loveseat when they heard her name called. They quickly followed the nurse back into an examination room, where Timmi sat on the counter, while Gibbs pulled a chair up next to her so he could hold her hand._

_"Hello, Miss McGee," said the doctor as he entered the room, "My name is Dr. Rogers. I understand that you've had some worrisome symptoms."_

_Gibbs answered, "She's been tired the last few days, and just this morning she was sick. At the beginning we thought it might be the flu, but the symptoms didn't develop into the flu so we thought it would be best to come to you."_

_The doctor hm'ed in response before turning to Timmi. "Do you know why you became sick, Miss McGee?"_

_Timmi shifted uncomfortably before saying, "Yes, it was the coffee."_

_Gibbs raised an eyebrow and said, "But you didn't even touch the coffee."_

_"I know. But the smell was just... Awful. I don't even know how to describe it."_

_Gibbs opened his mouth, but Dr. Rogers cut him off. "I have several ideas about what this could be. But I'll need a blood test to confirm."_

_Both Timmi and Gibbs indicated their willingness for the testing before Dr. Rogers took a blood sample. "I should be back within an hour with your results," he said before exiting the room with Timmi's blood._

_For the next 45 minutes, Timmi and Gibbs talked. He had made his way up onto the counter with Timmi and was sitting behind her when Dr. Rogers entered the examination room once more. He had a blank expression on his face as he stared at them. They stared back._

_Patience__ wasn't Gibbs strong suit. "Well?" he burst out after several seconds. Dr. Rogers let a smile crease his face. "Congratulations, Miss McGee. You're going to have a baby."_

**End Flashback**

Sarah was laughing by the time Timmi finished her story. "You mean that you both thought that you had some sort of disease?"

Timmi shook her head, "Pregnancy isn't the only thing that has exhaustion and nausea as symptoms, and practically none of them are good. To be honest, pregnancy didn't even cross our minds."

Sarah's face twisted in confusion. "But didn't Gibbs have a daughter? He must've seen the symptoms before."

Timmi was already shaking her head again before Sarah had even finished. "No, he was deployed when Shannon found out she was pregnant. He never saw her with the typical symptoms."

Sarah's face lightened with understanding. "I see, neither of you had spent much time around pregnant woman and ... Yeah, I get it now."

"So... What do I have to yell at you for?"

"It's... It's nothing, I'm just gonna... You know... Go back to my friends... Homework doesn't do itself." And she ran before Timmi could stop her.

"I'll get it out of you eventually, Sarah," she called. Sarah didn't even turn around as she waved a hand in goodbye.

Timmi smiled sadly for a moment before she felt a fluttering sensation in her stomach. She was confused for a moment before Dr. Hansen's voice reverberated in her mind. "_You should be able to feel your baby move anytime now. It'__ll feel very light, almost a fluttering sensation._" Her hand flew to her stomach as she smiled and started to walk back to her car.

"Don't worry baby, Daddy will be back soon. We're gonna be just fine."

**I'll admit, I wasn't sure how to end this chapter, so I did the best that I could. Hope all of you enjoy the fruits of my labor. I hope you're happy, BurnedSpy, this one is the longest one yet!**


	8. Shopping and a Little Angst

**I'll admit it, I'm pushing this chapter. I'm going to my grandpa's cabin for the weekend so I won't have internet access and I don't want to make you guys wait any longer than you have to. So this chapter was written all today. Thank you guys for all of your support. We still have a ways to go!**

**Disclaimer: I only own the plot! Sorry guys! I know you believed differently, but I can't live a lie. NCIS isn't mine.**

Timmi rummaged frantically through her closet. She was practically sobbing as she tried to find a pair of pants dressy enough for work, but loose enough to accommodate her expanding stomach. The sound of her sobs muffled the sound of footsteps on the stairs outside of the bedroom, so when her door was thrown open, she shrieked and fell backwards onto a pile of discarded pants.

"Whoa," said Tony as he stared. The bedroom looked like fashion armageddon had hit. Ziva peeked over his shoulder and her jaw dropped.

"Um, what are you two doing here," asked Timmi from her spot on the floor, tears still streaming down her face.

"Better yet, what the hell happened? Did a tornado hit or something?" asked Tony in astonishment.

Timmi picked herself up off of the floor and sighed. "No," she said dejectedly as she wiped away her tears, "I can't find anything to wear."

Tony's eyes grew wide and he gestured to the many piles of clothing covering the room.

"None of them fit," Timmi cried, and started to sob once more.

Both Tony and Ziva watched in total bewilderment as Timmi reached once more into the closet to draw out a dress. She pulled it on over her slip and examined herself in the mirror. They both immediately saw what she had been crying about. The dress that had once fit her perfectly clearly showed her distended stomach.

Ziva moved inside the room and picked up a discarded shirt. "Is all of your clothing like this?"

Timmi, who had just wrenched the dress over her head, wailed, "Yes!"

Tony followed Ziva and watched the two women go through the clothing. "I hate to break it to you, Timmi, but it looks like you need maternity clothes."

Timmi whirled angrily towards him. "NO, I DON'T," she screamed. Tony stumbled backwards, her sudden mood swing shocking him. But his eyes widened when the anger vanished from her face and the tears began again. She moved to the closet, only to wail when she realized that she had gone through all of her clothing.

Ziva moved forward and gingerly hugged her friend. Timmi turned into the embrace and continued to sob, even as Ziva looked helplessly at Tony. He shrugged before saying gently, "Timmi? We have to get to work. How about, we break early and you can take Abby and Ziva and go shopping?"

Timmi lifted her face from Ziva's shoulder and looked tearfully at Tony before she nodded her acceptance. Ziva took the opportunity and quickly gestured for Tony to leave the room while she got Timmi dressed in clothing that didn't look like it was going to burst at the seams.

**NCIS**

Abby was thrilled at the chance to shop with her friends, as proved by her endless babbling as Timmi drove them to the mall. Ziva wasn't so thrilled. She found no use in spending hours upon hours to find a perfect outfit, but she had seen the emotional turmoil her friend had been in that morning. Granted the episode had only happened because of hormones, but still. She could see how much it meant to her friend and so, she put her personal feelings aside.

Timmi smiled when they walked into the mall. Abby immediately grabbed her and Ziva and dragged them to the first maternity store they saw. They all immediately went to the wracks, before grabbing a few items each. Abby and Ziva gave theirs to Timmi and quickly sent her to the changing room. She modeled several outfits, none of which seemed to be her style, before walking out in a pair of stretchy jean shorts and a striped t-shirt. They all nodded their agreement and had a sales associate ring them up while Timmi went to change back into her clothes that no longer fit. They left the store and Timmi went straight for the bathroom.

When she walked out, she was wearing her new outfit. Grinning at her friends expressions she explained, "I don't feel comfortable wearing those tight clothes. Now that I feel more comfortable, I won't try to go home early." The three women laughed before linking arms and walking towards the next store.

**NCIS**

Several hours later, Timmi had an entire new wardrobe. Abby and Ziva had exclaimed over every item, and when she had been taking a small break, they had sneaked off and bought her several onesies and bibs. She had loved all of them, but she was torn between the green one that proclaimed, "Ninja in Training" and the blue one that said, "Daddy is the soldier, but Mommy is the boss". She couldn't make up her mind on which one was her favorite. She had pointed out to her friends that the onesies weren't exactly gender neutral, but all they had done was shrug and say that if she didn't like them, then she could always take them back.

Abby poked her head between the front seats, a frown on her face. "Timmi," she said before pausing, "Um... Where is the baby's room going to be?"

Ziva had also turned her head towards Timmi, who was shocked at the question.

"Not that it's any of my business, but the room closest to the master bedroom is Kelly's and..." she trailed off. Timmi was focusing on the road, but her knuckles whitened. She refused to speak the entire rest of the way back to the Navy Yard, and pulled away the second they both closed their doors.

Abby and Ziva both stood there a moment before Abby said in a fearful voice, "I hope I didn't say something wrong."

Ziva grabbed her shoulder in support and said, "We cannot forget, that even though she seems no different, she is having a hard time. The man that she loves is not here for her. Gibbs had probably not thought about the placement of the baby's nursery and now she is left with a difficult decision."

Abby looked at Ziva. "What difficult decision?"

Ziva turned to her car and paused with her hand on the handle before she faced Abby once more. "Whether she should put her baby first or live in the shadow of Gibbs' past. I do not envy her position at all."

Abby looked up at the sky as Ziva drove away. "Look what you've done, Gibbs," she whispered to the heavens, before opening her door, starting the car, and driving away, praying for a miracle.

**NCIS**

Timmi pulled into the driveway and shut off the car. She sat there for a moment, before grabbing all of the shopping bags and heading inside. She dropped them in the living room and walked up the stairs, pausing at the room next to hers. She opened the door slowly to display the girlish room and she stepped inside.

It was cute, she thought idly as she sat on the small bed. It was a room fit for a princess with its pink walls, white vanity, and shelves containing trophies from piano recitals. A picture frame caught her attention and she grabbed it, before catching her breath. It was a family picture. Little redheaded Kelly sat in between her parents who were holding hands while Shannon rested her head on Jethro's shouler. It didn't take much effort to see the love that the little family possessed for each other.

Timmi put the picture back and walked to the door. She opened it, but turned back once more to the room that had always been off limits, until now. And as she closed the door, she couldn't help but wonder if Jethro could ever truly love another child, as much as he had loved Kelly.

**Argh! I don't know where this came from! I almost cried when I was writing this, and I don't cry! Oh well, it's a good thing that one of the genres was already angst, otherwise I'd have to change it just because of this chapter. **


	9. An Ultrasound

**I've decided to try for deadlines instead of writing whenever the urge hits. My goal is for a chapter to be finished every four days, but I don't know how well that's going to work... Anyway, enjoy the fruits of my labor!**

**Disclaimer: I'm not even gonna say it.**

"No! You are not coming!" Timmi yelled at her friends, again.

"But," Tony, Abby, and Ziva protested before she cut them off once more.

"I'll get you pictures. I'll ask for a video. I'll buy my _own ultrasound _machine so you watch it live, but you are not coming to my OB GYN appointment."

This wasn't the first time they had had this conversation, in fact, it wasn't even the seventh. Each time, her friends insisted that they had a right to be at her appointment, but she continually denied that right.

Ducky finally stepped forward and said, "Anthony, Ziva, Abigail, Timothea has a right to dictate who will be at her appointment."

Abby crossed her arms grumpily and sat on the couch. They had come to Timmi and Gibbs' house to have dinner, only to become sidetracked once again by the same debate they had been having for two weeks now. Ziva shook her head and headed into the kitchen with Timmi, while Tony stayed behind to talk with Ducky and Jimmy.

"Ducky, why won't she let us come?" he asked desperately.

Ducky slowly took off his glasses and polished them before answering. "I'm not sure that I am qualified to answer that question, Anthony."

Jimmy said, "But aren't you getting your Masters degree in Forensic Psychology, Dr. Mallard?"

Ducky shot his assistant a sharp look. "That is for work, Mr. Palmer, not to mention a gross invasion of privacy in this instance."

Jimmy shrank back but Tony had taken to the idea. "Come on, Ducky," he wheedled, "It's good for practice."

Ducky glared at him for a moment before sighing. "Oh, alright. I believe that she wants the father of her child standing beside her when they see their baby for the first time. Undoubtedly, she adores us all, but we would be a poor substitute for such a significant event."

Tony wasn't quite satisfied with this answer and asked, "Why wouldn't she want someone to be with her? I mean, that's what the boss would want. If he couldn't be there, he would send one of us."

Ducky sighed once more, this time in aggravation. "Yes, Anthony, Jethro would indeed send one of us to be with her, and she would accept that. But you must remember, that he isn't just missing an ultrasound. He is missing an entire pregnancy. Because of this, she feels as if she must go it alone, probably so she can tell him that no one was allowed to take his place."

Nodding in understanding, Tony moved past him to the doorway of the kitchen. Timmi was standing at the stove, stirring a pot of... something while laughing with Ziva. An outsider wouldn't have been able to guess that she was distressed in any way, but Tony was no outsider. He saw the slightly shaky hands, the false note to her smile, and the look on her face when she thought that no one could see.

Ducky moved to his side and set a hand on his shoulder. Tony spoke in a low voice so he wouldn't be overheard. "She's in a lot of pain, Ducky. Why won't she let us help her?"

"Because. The only one who _can_ help, is the one causing her pain," he answered before joining the two women in making a delicious meal.

**NCIS**

Timmi shuddered as the ultrasound technician spread the cold jelly onto her distended stomach.

"Sorry, Miss McGee," she apologized, "I always forget to warn my patients the first time around."

"It's alright," she read the woman's badge, "Emily."

The technician smiled before taking the transducer and placing it onto Timmi. She moved it around a bit while she looked at the screen, trying to find the baby.

"Ah, here we go," she said, grabbing the mouse next to the screen. She pointed to a moving, black area in the fetus' chest. "There's the heart," she muttered, taking note of the location of the baby. "It looks like your baby is doing just fine, Miss McGee. Your chart says that you're at 19 weeks?"

"Yes, almost to the day."

"Well then, it's the perfect size for this stage in its development." The baby on the screen turned suddenly toward the probe.

"Well that was nice," Emily smiled.

"What was?"

"You want to know the sex, right?"

"Yes, I have to know what kind of clothes to buy."

Emily laughed and said, "He moved just the right amount to tell me what he is."

Timmi's eyes widened, "He? It's a boy?"

Emily laughed and pointed the mouse before snapping a shot of the baby boy.

**NCIS**

Timmi sat in her car, looking at the sonogram of her son. _"Everything is developing normally, Miss McGee. It looks like you're going to have a bouncing baby boy soon."_

She shook her head to rid herself of the technicians voice before she smiled. She had to get to the Navy Yard.

**NCIS**

Tony sat at Gibbs'... _His _desk, doing who knows what. He had been looking at the elevator every time it dinged open, and he wasn't the only one. Ziva, Abby, Ducky, and Jimmy were experiencing the same weird disorder. It finally became clear what they were waiting on when the elevator dinged once more and Timmi walked out.

Tony and Ziva both stood up, while Abby and Jimmy both fell off of the empty desk. Ducky, who had been standing, was the first to reach their friend.

"Well?" they all chorused. Timmi's grin seemed bigger than the moon as she said, "It's a boy."

The bullpen exploded. All of her friends lunged forward to hug her, but she held them off as she pulled out the sonogram. They all snatched at it, trying to be the first to see, but a pale hand reach from behind them and took it. They whirled around to see Director Shepard examining the picture.

She looked up with a smile on her face. "It seems to me, that we'll be having a talk soon, Agent McGee," she said before handing the picture to Ducky as she walked away.

Abby slyly grabbed the sonogram and looked at it before handing it over to Tony as she hugged Timmi. The rest of her friends gathered around the picture. Abby finished the strangling the hug and joined the group gathered around the picture.

Ducky moved away from the group to stand beside Timmi. He spoke a few moments later, "A boy then."

She smiled. "Yes, it is."

"Are you glad that it isn't a girl?"

"As bad as it sounds, I am. I don't think I could raise a girl in the shadow of Kelly. A boy at least has a chance of being seen as himself."

Ducky turned toward her in shock. "Do you think so little of Jethro?"

Her eyes stared at her friends as she said, "I have to. Then, maybe, it won't hurt as much when it actually happens."

**Ah... Finished. I guess I'll see you guys in four days!**


	10. Names and a Simple Truth

**Hey guys! Did all of you see Tuesday's episode? I'll admit it, I cringed and hid behind a pillow when Tim tried to ask her out. I have never been so relieved when Gibbs interrupted. I mean, I love McGee, but he's horrible with women. And to answer some of your questions: I _will_ be sticking to the canon timeline. Gibbs left about May 16 (that's when the episode aired) and comes back twice, once on about September 19 (Shalom), and once about September 26 (Escaped).That means that he was gone about four months. We'****re at about the beginning of July. That leaves us with two months to go, but I don't plan on spending as much time on the rest of Gibbs' absence. I ****_am_**** going to continue this after the baby is born, but it will be in a series. After all, we won't even be halfway into season 4 when Caelen is born. That leaves us with another 6 and a half seasons of awesomeness to get through!**

**Disclaimer: Um... This is a story about a girl!McGee. Definitely NOT canon. Therefore, I don't own**

Timmi should have known not to be surprised when her friends walked into her house loaded down with dozens of shopping bags, but she was anyway. They plonked them onto the table where she was eating dinner and then went outside to grab more. Timmi moved to the door and stared at the shopping bag filled cars.

"What is all of this?" she asked a passing Tony, who was already on his third trip.

"This? It's all stuff for the baby."

"WHAT? Tony, there must be a hundred shopping bags. Why on earth would a baby need so much?"

"Oh, don't worry," said Abby as she passed, "Most of it's only toys."

Timmi's eyes widened, but before she could say anything, Ziva approached and said, "Did we not do the math? We discovered that almost half of it was toys, and the rest was clothes and furniture."

Timmi found her voice again. "Furniture? Why did you guys buy furniture?"

"Don't worry, my dear," came Ducky's clear voice, "We did not buy anything that cannot be returned."

"Why?" she asked the sky, holding her hands out in supplication.

"Why what?" her friends chorused as they continued to move mountains of bags into her house. She simply ignored the question and walked back inside to finish her dinner.

**NCIS**

Her friends were unsurprisingly hungry after finally getting the last package. She fixed them each a plate of food and sat them down in the living room, the only room that wasn't full of shopping bags. They scarfed it down before Tony set his plate down and turned to Timmi.

"Names," was all he said.

"Peanut butter," she replied.

His face twisted with confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"I thought we were naming off random things, but I'm guessing that that's not really what we're doing."

"Uh, no. Actually, I was hoping you would tell us what names you have in mind for the baby."

Timmi blinked. "I haven't really thought about it. What do you guys think?" she asked the room.

They all started talking at once. Timmi held up her hands to stop them. "How about, you each tell me your two favorite names and we'll go from there." They nodded sheepishly and she indicated Ducky to go first.

"I have always been fond of the names David and Sean."

Tony went next. "Anthony... and Daniel." he added as an afterthought. His friends simply rolled their eyes.

Jimmy stuttered for a moment before they were able to make out, "Connor and Joshua."

Ziva went next. "What was Gibbs' fathers name?" Timmi blinked in confusion, but then it hit her and she smiled. "Jackson."

"Then I pick Jethro and Jackson."

Abby, who had be waiting on the edge of her seat, jumped up and said, "Jethro and Caelen."

Timmi had written down each name and had found a combination she liked. "Caelen Jackson," she said, tasting the name on her tongue. Her friends considered it for a minute before nodding in approval. "I'll put it down on a list of possibilities."

Then Tony sat forward once more. "What about the last name?"

Timmi sat backward, tapping the pen against her mouth. She was silent for a moment then said, "I believe that a child should take their father's name, but I'm almost willing to put that aside and give him mine."

"Why don't you just combine them?"

"McGee-Gibbs or Gibbs-McGee? Not gonna work."

"No, I mean make a new name like, I don't know, McGibbs or something."

Abby spoke, "Um, Tony? That sounds like a fanfiction pairing. I don't think someone would want that as a last name."

Timmi and her friends nodded absently before Ziva broke the silence. "What is fanfiction?"

**NCIS**

Timmi didn't know how her friends had convinced her to let them stay the night, but they had managed it somehow. It was nice to have someone in the house with her again, but the noises they were making put an end to any sleep she hoped to get.

She sat up in bed and turned on the light, illuminating the bedroom that she and Jethro shared. She made her way over to the wall where Jethro had placed several pictures of them together. Next to them she had framed her sonogram. She traced the blurry black and white photo before placing a hand on her stomach and turning to the pictures of her and Jethro.

Her favorite by far was the one where they were sitting on the couch, each reading a book. His head was placed on her lap and she was stroking his hair. They looked so peaceful... And in love. She turned away from the memories as her bedroom door opened, revealing a disheveled Abby.

She was holding Bert and was rubbing her eyes. All in all, she looked like a small child going to visit her parents after a nightmare. "Why are you up, Abby?"

Abby didn't even look at her when she said, "I couldn't sleep. Can I stay in here tonight?"

Definitely a child then. "Sure you can." Abby nodded her thanks and crawled into the king sized bed. Timmi crawled in beside her. She knew Abby had had something she had wanted to talk to her about all night and this was the perfect opportunity. Timmi was proved right when Abby spoke a minute later.

"Do you hate him?"

Timmi didn't need to ask who she was talking about. "No. But I kinda want to."

"Why don't you?"

"Because I love him too much..."

"Do you think that you can ever forgive him?"

"...Yes."

Abby quickly turned toward her and stared at her with wide eyes. "Why do you think that?!"

Timmi simply smiled at her reaction before Abby went on. "Not that I don't want you to forgive him but most people don't want to forgive people who've hurt them. I'm not like that but Ziva is and I know you are depending on the person..." She continued to ramble while Timmi's smile faded.

"Abby," she said to stop her friend. When she stopped her rant Timmi continued, "I know that I can forgive him, Abby."

"How?"

"...Because I already have."

**I thought this was an acceptable ending. When I started this chapter I knew I had to end it with a simple truth... That she has forgiven Gibbs already. Don't worry guys, I'll go more in depth with that in the next chapter.**


	11. Shalom

**To answer more questions: Yes, he will have to jump through a few hoops to get her back... One of them will be to shave that damn mustache. And Gottahavemyncis, you captured my feelings exactly... But don't worry... He won't really have her back until Dead and Unburied (Dun Dun Dun...) And even then, she'll still be a bit wary. And as for everyone else... Well you'll just have to wait and see.**

**Oh, and I decided to skip straight to Shalom. I've used a lot of dialogue from it and none of it's mine. I couldn't think of any more to write about Gibbs' absence so I took it straight to the return. Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I've done this ten times already. If I didn't own NCIS the other times, I certainly don't now.**

Time without Gibbs passed slowly. Everyday without fail, the team accidentally made their way to their old desks before correcting themselves. Tony lead the team with as much grace and finesse as a man who missed his old boss and prayed every night for his return could. As Timmi's stomach grew steadily, her time in the field shortened until she was officially on desk duty.

Abby had taken to counting the days Gibbs was gone. But with each new sticky note, her hope lessened. Still, she took heart in the fact that Timmi had forgiven him long ago and that she was willing to take him back. She knew that the rest of the team still had a ways to go in the forgiveness department, but that they would eventually forgive their fearless team leader.

Through their pain, the team continued to work. All seemed well until the day Ziva saw something that she shouldn't have. The day had begun innocently enough. Abby and Timmi were sitting in the bullpen, waiting for Tony to arrive.

"Is he here yet? Is he here yet?" Abby asked as she paced back and forth.

Timmi looked up from her computer game. "Abby, do you think I'd be playing this game if he was?"

Abby shook her head and Timmi sighed. "I _will_ call you as soon as he gets here, okay? I promise."

"But what if his flight was delayed? Or worse? What if he missed his connecting flight?"

"Well, then he'll be here tomorrow."

"Not good enough, Timmi! A team needs a leader. He's our glue. He's our spine. Without him we're like… Phylum cnidaria."

"Jellyfish."

"Exactly!"

"Are you calling me spineless?"

Abby paled and backtracked. "No, no! You of all people are not spineless. I mean, you're dating _Gibbs_, not to mention you're almost seven months pregnant."

Timmi smiled, amused. "I know, Abby. I was just teasing."

Abby fiddled with her bracelets for a moment before she said, "I'm going to check his flight," and leaned over Timmi's shoulder to fiddle with her computer. Timmi leaned away from Abby. "Abby, you're getting powder all over my keyboard."

"And?"

"I'm the only one allowed to do that." Abby considered that for a moment before offering her a powdered donut. Timmi laughed and accepted, before she said, "You're overdoing the sugar thing again, Abbs."

"Well, I'm eating for two."

Timmi glared at her and she cringed, "Not what I meant. You're the pregnant one, I was referring to the health food freak over there. Every time I go past her desk, I have this irresistible urge to shove a cheeseburger down her throat."

Timmi looked over at Agent Lee for a moment before nodding in agreement.

Agent Lee looked over at them and said, "You two do realize I can hear you, right?"

Abby didn't even look at her as she continued to type, "We do now, very Special Agent Lee." She stood up and wailed, "His flight landed on time! Where is he?"

Just then the doors elevator doors opened, revealing Tony. Abby ran forward and gave him a gigantic hug. "Oh, yay! You're home! Welcome back! I missed you! Oh…"

"I missed you, too, Abby," Tony smiled as he hugged her back.

"Oh, did you have fun? Did you go to that cool bar in Düsseldorf?"

"You know, I tried. But, you know, that security conference kept us pretty busy."

Abby simply smiled and hugged Tony a little bit harder.

"I'm having trouble breathing here, Abby."

"I'm sorry!" Abby exclaimed as her arms flew away from him.

"Timmi! Look at you! All grown up. So what did I miss the last two weeks? Besides you growing out another inch or two."

"Well, nothing I couldn't handle, _Boss_," she said, stressing the last word, teasing him.

Tony laughed loudly and hugged her. "Good! And to think the Director didn't have any faith in you!"

Timmi laughed too. "Probably because I'm as large and clumsy as a house."

Tony pulled back and smiled at her gently, "As if. You are one of the most graceful women I've ever met. And you in no way resemble a house."

Timmi simply smiled and punched him in the arm. Tony smirked, rubbed his 'hurt' arm and turned toward the rest of his friends. "Gather 'round, people. I come bearing gifts." He turned to Abby. "For the lovely lady," he said and handed her a lovely cross necklace.

"Ah, Tony," Abby exclaimed, "It's beautiful!"

"Not to mention incredibly expensive. Euro is stronger than it used to be. For my pregnant Senior Field Agent…" Tony handed Timmi a gift wrapped package. She looked at him, puzzled before ripping it open to reveal a onesie that looked like lederhosen. It even had a matching hat. Timmi and Abby roared with laughter as Agent Lee eyed the baby lederhosen distastefully.

Tony smiled at Timmi before giving her a gentle head slap. Timmi playfully rubbed the back of her head and asked, "What was that for?"

"You have an unauthorized game on your computer."

"Okay, but it's your game, Tony."

"Yeah, and you shouldn't have beaten my high score. And for Ziva… real das lederhosen! One size fits all. Where is the little Israeli?"

Lee spoke up. "Late, Sir. Second time this week."

Tony turned toward the probie of his team. "Agent Lee, my favorite probie/hall monitor. I'll bet you're wondering what the newest member of Team Dinozzo gets. Well, we saved the best for last here. This was not easy getting through customs, but…" And he tossed her a stapler.

"A stapler?"

"It's a German stapler."

"But it says "Made in China", Sir."

"Oh, yeah. It's that German, Eurasian, China. It's a global village, Lee. Get used to it."

Lee rolled her eyes and set the stapler on her desk. She quickly went back to the topic of Ziva. "She's over an hour late, Sir. That's unusual, even for her."

Tony shook his head and asked, "What did I tell you about worrying, Probie?"

"That it's your job."

Timmi whispered to Abby, "She's finally learning." They both giggled which turned into all out laughter when Tony said, "See? You're learning!"

Lee gave them a strange look before she turned back to Tony. "I'm sorry, Sir. But she's not answering her cell phone either."

"Okay, there is only one thing you need to know about Officer David," Tony began.

"Don't make her angry."

Tony considered this and then said, "So technically, really, there's two things. The other is…. she can take care of herself."

**NCIS**

A few hours later, Timmi was calling Ziva again. "Ziva, just call us as soon as you get the message. We're not worried. Just give us a call please."

As she closed her phone, Tony spoke. "Okay, now I'm starting to worry."

"You think she's all right?" Timmi asked him.

"Well, if she was all right, she'd be here, Timmi."

"The question is, what would Jethro do in a situation like this?" she said absently.

Just then, the director walked in and responded to her question. "He'd find her, Tony."

"I'm working on it, Director!"

"Work harder. Metro Police just found her car on a sidewalk in Georgetown."

Timmi spoke up then. "Actually, it's not that unusual when Ziva's driving."

"Yeah, I drove all the way through Eastern Europe with her. I should know, McGee. But in my experience, the FBI doesn't usually concern themselves with traffic accidents."

Just then the elevator opened to reveal several FBI agents.

"Tony, isn't that the guy who tried to put you away for a murder?" Timmi asked.

"Yes, it is. And thank you for bringing up a painful memory, Timothea McGee," he said in response before turning to the director. "You knew they were coming, Director?"

"Calm down, Tony. I only just got the call ten minutes ago."

"What do they want with Ziva?"

"We're about to find out," she said as she stepped forward to introduce herself to the agents.

**NCIS**

Several hours later, Abby was calling Gibbs in a panic. "Gibbs. This is really, really bad. Ziva has disappeared, and everyone's saying that she's just like her brother. I really, really need you to call me. Please," she said before hanging up. Two seconds later, the phone rang.

"Gibbs?" Abby asked excitedly.

"Abby, it's Ziva."

"Ziva, are you alright?"

"No, and don't say my name so loud."

"Sorry! Where are you?"

"At a safe place at the moment."

"The FBI was here and Tony was freaking out."

"Abby, I need you to do a favor for me."

"You name it."

"First, you can't tell anyone I've spoken to you."

"Except Tony, right?"

"No. Not even Tony. If I talk to him, he'll get in trouble with the FBI."

"What do you need?"

"A phone number."

A few minutes later, Timmi and Tony walked into the lab just as Abby was hanging up. "Who was that?" Tony asked.

"Where?" Abby asked nervously.

"On the phone."

"Oh... It was the nuns."

"The nuns?" Timmi asked in confusion.

"Yep. They called to say that... Bowling practice is canceled."

"Bowling nuns?" Timmi and Tony chorused.

"Geez, guys! What? Are you on an anti-nun crusade?"

Tony shook his head. "Ok, forget the nuns. I need to contact Gibbs. If we're going to get Ziva out of this, I'm going to need his advice."

Abby simply shrugged. "Well, last I heard he was still in Mexico."

Tony smiled and pulled out his phone. "Luckily, I know someone living in Mexico," he said as he walked out of the lab, his phone to his ear.

**NCIS**

Meanwhile in Mexico, Gibbs accepted a phone from a beautiful Mexican woman.

"Yeah. Gibbs."

"Hola!" Ziva exclaimed. "How's Mexico?"

"How'd you get this number?"

"From Abby. And if it helps, I forced it out of her."

"No. It doesn't. What's wrong?"

"Why does something always have to be wrong? Can't I just speak with an old friend? Do a little catching up?"

"Today, Ziva!"

"Okay. I may be in a little bit of trouble."

"Yeah? Define little."

"I am currently on the run from the FBI , NCIS, Mossad, and my father."

"Geez! What'd you do?"

"I did nothing, Gibbs. I swear, I did nothing."

"Where's DiNozzo?"

"He can't help me."

"Well, you should talk to Jenny. Jenny can help you."

"I can't."

"Ziva! Look, I'm retired! I'm three thousand miles away! What do you think I can do that they can't do?"

"Honestly? I don't know. I was hoping, maybe… Save me?"

**NCIS**

Two days later, the team was ready to kill the FBI. Timmi rubbed her eyes and said, "How long are these guys going to be here?"

Agent Lee spoke. "Officer David was here for a year. Who knows how badly she compromised our security."

Timmi's head whipped around and she glared with all the fury of a pregnant woman. "What'd you say, Probie?" she asked threateningly.

Agent Lee took her anger to mean something else. "Oh, come on, McGee. You think we don't spy on our allies, too? It happens all the time," she said dismissively.

Just then Tony walked into the bullpen. "Agent Lee?"

"Sir?"

"Shut up and keep an eye on the Feds. Timmi, you're with me. We've got places to be."

As Timmi stood up and grabbed her purse, Agent Sacks spoke. "Should be done here, Dinozzo, in another… oh, five, six more hours."

Timmi was barely able to control herself, and only then because Tony grabbed her arm and lead her from the bullpen.

**NCIS**

Tony pulled Timmi into autopsy where the rest of their friends were. He sat her down on the only empty chair, which just so happened to be the only soft one. She rolled her eyes at her friends overprotectiveness but took it anyway.

"First off, this is a strictly voluntary thing. Ziva's a fugitive. Anyone caught helping or assisting her in any way will be in serious trouble." he paused as Jimmy raised his hand. "Palmer?"

"Um… By serious, you mean like, get fired?"

Ducky answered his question for him, "He means, Mister Palmer, instead of attending medical school next month, you will most likely be in prison."

Jimmy's face fell and he said, "Oh."

Abby enthusiastically said, "I'm in!"

"Danger, intrigue, a damsel in distress? I'm actually looking forward to it," Ducky said.

"Me, too!" Timmi said, a hand on her stomach. "Not anything physical, mind you," Tony said, shaking his finger at her.

Timmi was about to argue, when Jimmy spoke up. "Um… I'm not exactly the type that would do well in prison, guys."

Tony turned to him, "No one's going to think any less of you if you want out, Palmer."

Jimmy looked rather hopeful. "Really?" he asked.

"Well, no. We probably would. At least I know I would."

Jimmy's shoulders slumped, "All right, then I want a code name. Something cool sounding."

"All right. No one can know about this, especially the Director. Are we all good with that? Alright then let's figure out how to find her. Timmi, I want you on her electronic tracks. Cell phone, computer, toaster, oven if you have to. Ducky, please talk to your contacts in the FBI. I want to know everything about that Georgetown crime scene. Palmer, how does "Black Lung" sound?"

"Like a horrible and painful way to die," he responded immediately.

Tony blinked. "I mean as your code name."

"Oh, I like it!"

"Yeah. All right. Well then, you're in charge of supplies, Black Lung. Which means lunch and at this point, probably dinner. Abs, I need you to go..."

"I talked to Ziva yesterday."

"I know."

Abby did a double take. "Wait, how?"

Tony held up his phone. "I've been talking to Mike," he confessed, "He told me that Ziva called Gibbs and Gibbs left Mexico."

The team looked shocked. "What?" Tony shrugged before turning back to Abby. "How did you contact her?"

Abby wriggled, "Um... Ziva made me promise not to tell."

"Abby," the team chorused, threateningly.

"All right! All I have is this phone number."

Tony dialed the number Abby gave him and waited for a minute before pulling it away from his mouth. "Well, there's no answer. Abby, are you sure that this..." Just then, someone answered. "Ziva?" he asked.

"Tell Abby I'm going to kill her."

"We love you too."

"I'm hanging up now," Ziva warned.

"No, you're not! You're going to tell me what the hell is going on here."

"Your phone could be tapped, Tony."

"Well, then I'll come to you. I'm assuming Gibbs is with you."

Ziva's jaw dropped and she spun to face Gibbs. One look at her face, and he grabbed the phone. "DiNozzo, what did you say to her?"

On the other side of the phone, Tony smirked and leaned against an autopsy slab. "I told her that you were with her. Nice to hear from you, Boss. I'll be there soon," he said, before hanging up abruptly.

Gibbs pulled the phone away from his ear and started at it. "How did he know?" he asked Ziva. Ziva simply looked at him and smiled. "Because he is Tony," she said simply and walked away leaving Gibbs scratching his head in confusion.

**NCIS**

An hour or so later, Tony stepped up to the door leading into Gibbs' basement just as Gibbs said, "How many times do I have to tell you, I don't believe..."

Ziva interrupted him, "In coincidences? I know."

Tony opened the door. "Lucky for you, neither do I." Both Ziva and Gibbs spun, pointing their guns at him. He didn't even flinch. "According to the FBI, I should be the one aiming my weapon at you."

Both Gibbs and Ziva looked at him for a moment before holstering their guns. "You were set up. The only Mossad liaison officer in D. C…" Gibbs started.

"Just happens to be present during a Metsada-style hit," Tony finished for him.

Ziva clapped a hand to her forehead. "Oh, God. I'm an idiot. He led me to the scene. Eschel framed me!" she kicked at a spare piece of wood, swearing in Hebrew. "Filthy rotting pig!"

"Yeah, but the question is, why?" Gibbs pointed out.

Tony shrugged and pulled out a spare phone. "I thought you might be needing this." But Gibbs took his coffee instead. "Uh… I meant the NCIS cell phone. That's my coffee, Boss," he protested.

"Do I still look like your boss?"

Tony studied the man in front of him. "Uh… well, maybe if you shaved. And a haircut wouldn't hurt." Gibbs smiled and Tony shivered. "The smile thing's definitely throwing me off, too," he said, grimacing.

"It's good to see you again, McGee." Both Ziva and Tony stared at him in shock, before turning to look at the top of the stairs. Timmi wasn't there, so they turned back to Gibbs, who was looking at Tony.

Tony pointed to himself. "Were you talking to me?" he asked. "Cause if you were, I'm not a girl."

Gibbs was confused. "What did I say?"

Ziva spoke slowly. "We believe that you just called him McGee."

"Oh, that's probably because if I left her in charge, you wouldn't t be on the FBI's ten most wanted list right now."

Tony merely blinked. "So you do remember?" he asked, changing the subject.

"That I left you in charge? Yeah, I remember I left you in charge, DiNozzo. What I forgot is your taste in coffee. It stinks!"

"I like sugar. It's my weakness. What's our plan?"

Ziva didn't like that. "Things are bad enough for NCIS as it is, Tony. You can't..."

"I don't remember asking your opinion, Officer David!" Tony responded.

Ziva rolled her eyes and turned to Gibbs. "You see? He's been completely insufferable since you left."

"Only when I need to be."

Gibbs considered that. "Hm… maybe you were the right man for the job. Our plan is to find this guy before he gets out of the country."

Tony immediately pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "I'm on it, Boss," he said as he climbed the stairs.

There was silence for a few minutes before Gibbs turned to Ziva and asked, "What's with all the packages upstairs?"

**NCIS**

"How do we put out a BOLO without the FBI finding out about it?"

"I knew you would ask me that, Timmi."

"And?"

"And I … I don't know. Any suggestions?"

Abby spoke up from beside Timmi. "We could tell the FBI about Eschel and let _them_ track him down."

"And when they ask how we know about him?" Tony asked.

Abby deflated. "They'll know we talked to Ziva," she said sadly.

"Timmi!"

"Tony," she said thoughtfully, "What if we lie?"

"Sacks is a self-centered egotistical jack hole, but he's not an idiot. He'll know."

"No, I mean lie on the BOLO. Instead of looking for a rogue Mossad spy wanted for murder, we put out a BOLO for a wife-beater."

"That's underhanded, devious…"

"And freakin' awesome!" Abby concluded.

"I'm glad to see I'm finally rubbing off on you. Do it, Timmi."

**NCIS**

Later that night, Sacks approached the team with news of an explosion at a safe house.

"We're still not sure what the hell happened, Dinozzo. Or if she was even in there when then place blew up," Sacks said, speaking of Ziva.

"Bodies?" Tony asked.

"No, it was incinerated. We won't even be able to process the scene until at least tomorrow."

"What makes you think she was there?"

"A tip."

"From who?"

"Anonymous. My guess is probably somebody inside Mossad trying to make nice."

"Someone tying up loose ends."

"For all we know she blew up the place to cover her own tracks."

"She was only looking for the guy who set her up."

"You mind telling me how you know that?"

Tony walked to the elevator and pressed the button for Autopsy. "Because that's what I'd do," he said as the doors closed.

**NCIS**

Tony walked into autopsy and immediately spoke. "Not good, Ducky."

"You did manage to call them, didn't you?"

"I got Gibbs' voice mail. I don't think he ever learned how to use it."

"And the number Abby has for Ziva?"

"Not picking up."

"Then there's only one thing for you to do."

"I know! Let the Director know they're probably dead and resign for disobeying a direct order."

"You'll do nothing of the sort, Anthony Dinozzo."

"And why is that?"

"One, because Timothea would kill you and the last thing she needs is more stress. Second, because the man who did that is still out there. And I'll be damned if we let him get away with it!"

"What would Gibbs do, right? I've got a bulletin for you, Ducky. I am _not_ Gibbs."

"No, you're not. Gibbs quit. You're still here."

Tony began pacing back and forth. "Why wasn't I with Ziva? I turned over my responsibility to him without even thinking about it."

"Gibbs is one of the most capable ag..."

"Was, Ducky! You didn't see him. I mean, he didn't even look like Gibbs. I think he went _native_ down there."

The doors to autopsy opened, revealing Gibbs. Tony didn't notice, even when Ducky tried to warn him with an, "Uh... Tony?"

"His hair is all long and crazy looking. And he's got this scraggly beard. He looks like a pirate or something. His eyes are all bloodshot from drinking hooch from morning to night with Franks!"

"They call it a "redeye" for a reason… the flight I was on took all night to get here," Gibbs said in response.

Tony whirled around and raised clasped hands to the ceiling. "Oh, geez! You're all right! Good. All right. Thank god."

"Yeah, thank Ziva. Already been blown up twice, Tony. Don't think I got a third one in me. Space seventy-three. Presents in the back for Autopsy and Abby. Don't be seen. Hey, Duck!"

"Welcome home, Jethro," said Ducky with a smile.

"Oh, you got the wrong guy. I'm just visiting. You might want to tell Palmer it's going to be a late night," he said as he walked out.

Ducky's face twisted with anger and he lurched to his feet to go after Gibbs, but Tony stopped him. "Leave it, Ducky," he said.

"Why?" Ducky asked angrily. "He's leaving again. That will tear poor Timothea apart."

"Yes, it will," said Tony sadly. "But we can't make him stay until he remembers."

Ducky sat back down and rubbed his eyes. "Has he even seen her yet?" he asked.

Tony shook his head. "Nope. And it's gonna stay that way until he remembers."

"But what if seeing her can trigger something?"

"... But what if it doesn't? As weird as it sounds, she's the closest thing I have to a mom and I'm not going to let her get hurt any more than she has too."

**NCIS**

Timmi was sitting in Abby's lab when Tony burst in and grabbed her arm. "You need to hide," he said.

Abby and Timmi exchanged a look before turning to him. "Why?" Abby asked.

"Gibbs is coming." Timmi's face showed her confusion, but before she could ask anything, Abby grabbed her other arm. She and Tony pulled her to Abby's office, told her to sit with her back to the door, and shut and locked the doors.

Timmi stood there stunned for a moment before doing what they asked. Just then, Abby's lab doors slid open and Gibbs walked in.

"Hi, Gibbs," Abby said, giving him a hug. "Timmi had to take a quick break so I'll just tell you what we found. We matched the dead guy's prints. Balash Sassanid. Arrested five years ago for reckless driving. An illegal from Iran. Student visa expired last year."

"Good job, Abby, " Tony and Gibbs chorused.

"What about the cell phone Eschel called us on, Abs?" Gibbs asked.

"I isolated the grid the call came in on."

"And?" questioned Tony.

Abby looked rather defeated. "The grid includes the entire city of Woodbridge, Virginia. He could be anywhere in it."

"Great. We've got nothing," Gibbs said, throwing his hands in the air.

"Well, an ex-Mossad officer working with an Iranian student is something, Gibbs," Tony pointed out.

"Not if it doesn't help us find Eschel in time."

"Abby, the BOLO we put out yesterday. Any hits? Timmi completely forgot about that, didn't she?"

"Actually, no. We have multiple hits. Six hits on men fitting his general description. Three in Delaware, one in Pennsylvania, two in Virginia. The closest match... A local cop saw a man fitting his exact profile at a Freemont Inn."

"Where?" asked Tony and Gibbs together.

"Woodbridge, Virginia."

Tony and Gibbs both thanked her and left the room. Timmi waited until she heard the elevator ding before standing up. Abby hurried over to her and opened the door.

"What was all that about?" Timmi asked her.

"We decided that Gibbs isn't allowed to see you until he decides to stay."

"And... You all decided this without me?"

Abby froze and looked at her friend, cringing. She knew that they were in a _lot_ of trouble.

**NCIS**

Just hours later, and the case was closed. Ziva was cleared, Timmi had avoided Gibbs, and the FBI had finally left them alone. They had gathered in the directors office and were watching a newscast.

"...Terrorist believed to be responsible for the death of two of their agents. Two other terrorists were also killed in a standoff with Federal authorities in Northern Virginia," the reporter said.

"Federal authorities? They mean us! Four stinkin' letters. NCIS!" exclaimed Tony.

"It's either that story, Tony, or the FBI charges you with interfering in their investigation," responded Jenny.

Tony subsided immediately. " I can live with Federal authorities."

Jenny smirked and turned to Ziva. "Welcome home, Ziva!"

"Well, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for Gibbs."

"And me," said Tony.

"True. But mostly Gibbs."

"Speaking of which…?"

"He's in the squad room," Tony said.

**NCIS**

They stood in the bullpen a minute later and looked around. Agent Lee saw them looking and walked over. "Agent Gibbs left, Ma'am. Said he had a plane to catch."

"Are you sure, Agent Lee?" questioned Tony

"Yes sir. I'm sure."

"No... He didn't even say goodbye!"

"Director, he wanted me to give this to you," she said and handed her an envelope.

Jenny opened it to reveal a picture. "Oh, nice snap," said Tony, "Where was that taken?"

"Serbia."

"When?"

"A lifetime ago, Ziva." They stared at the picture for a moment before shaking their heads. Jenny went back up to her office, while Tony and Ziva made their way to Autopsy. As they walked in the door, they saw Timmi sitting on a chair, her feet on another one, holding a cup of tea looking annoyed.

"I'm fine, Ducky. I haven't been on my feet, and I never even saw Jethro today. Stop treating me like an invalid."

"Not going to happen, Timmi," her friends chorused. Instead of arguing with them, she rolled her eyes and sipped her drink.

"Why did you guys not want him to see me?"

The question froze them, but Tony was the first to recover so he faced her. "We know that you forgave him a long time ago, but we didn't want you to get hurt since he still doesn't remember you."

Timmi's brow creased with confusion. "Yeah, it kinda does hurt, but it's nothing I can't handle."

"We know, but if he did remember something, we didn't want you to take him back." Jimmy had spoken without thinking and quailed under the ferocious glares directed at him.

Timmi began to laugh. They turned and stared at her in confusion.

"You actually think I would take him back right away?" They nodded and she rolled her eyes. "I'm not an idiot. When he remembers, he'll have to prove himself. He left, he pays the consequence, no matter if he had amnesia or not."

**Wow... I guess that when I'm given an episode, I write 3 times my normal amount. Who'd have thought!**


	12. Escaped

**Thanks for all the reviews! I love hearing from my readers! You guys are so supportive of me and I love you all for it. Just so you guys know, I do accept ideas from you. If you guys have something you want to see in this story, tell me and I'll try to fit it in!**

**Disclaimer: Pregnancy. Not something any of the main characters have experienced on NCIS. As a major part of this story is about pregnancy, I don't own NCIS.**

Tony swore graphically as he dropped a box on his foot.

"Tony," Timmi scolded, as she reached down to pick it up. Jimmy however, got there first and quickly took it to the truck sitting outside. She folded her arms grumpily. "You guys won't let me do anything!" she complained.

"Well, you are seven months pregnant."

"That makes me careful, not invalid, Tony. I'm still perfectly capable of moving my stuff."

"We disagree."

"Oh, trust me. I noticed... Remind me, why am I being moved out of my house?"

"Because, Mike called and said that Gibbs was coming back."

"And why am I being moved out?"

"Because he doesn't remember you."

"Again, why am I being moved out?"

"Mike said he was planning on selling the house."

"Then I'll buy it and just move my things back in!"

"Oh, shut up," Tony muttered as he grabbed another box and walked it out.

**NCIS**

"I really don't need to stay with Ducky, guys. I'll be fine in a hotel."

"No!"

Timmi sighed and rolled her eyes. "Why?"

"Because."

"I need a better reason than that!"

"It's a perfectly reasonable argument!"

Timmi simply rolled her eyes and decided to drop it.

"Do we know if Jethro came back yet?" she asked as she dropped into her chair behind her desk.

Tony nodded. "Mike called and said he got here two days ago."

Ziva joined in. "And yet we have not heard from him. It is rather disheartening."

"Yep," chorused Tony and Timmi.

Just then the elevator dinged open to reveal Agent Lee. Tony and Ziva quickly grew quiet and pretended to look busy so she wouldn't try to talk to them. Timmi, however, smiled at the woman and asked, "How are you, Michelle?"

The woman nodded formally. "I'm fine, Timothea."

Timmi grimaced at the use of her full name, but let it slide. "That's good then."

Lee simply nodded once more and walked quickly to her desk. Tony and Ziva glared at her for being short with Timmi, but before either of them could say anything, Timmi shut them up with a glare.

They turned back to their work and silence reigned in the bullpen until Tony became aware of a familiar presence. He looked up to see Gibbs walking right by them.

He stood up suddenly and said in surprise "Gibbs!" The rest of the team looked up in shock and stared at the familiar man making his way to the director's office. Once he disappeared they exchanged looks.

"What was...?" Timmi asked.

"I have _no_ clue," Tony and Ziva chorused.

**NCIS**

It wasn't long before Gibbs made his way into the bullpen, but he ignored the shocked looks as he sat at the spare desk next to Lee's when the phone rang. They were treated to one side of a conversation.

"You should have been here half an hour ago," he said, then paused. "You want me to send an agent over?"

Tony and Ziva had made their way to Timmi's desk and were staring at Gibbs. "Okay, I've got an idea. Maybe he lost his memory again, and forgot he quit his job," Tony said.

Timmi gave him the 'look'. "But then he would be sitting at _your_ desk," she pointed out.

Ziva shrugged. "If Gibbs wanted us to know what he was doing, he would have told us."

"Oh, right! Because he would never expect us to figure out for ourselves!"

They jumped when the director spoke from behind them. "Gibbs is back on temporary assignment. The Paulson case."

Ziva turned around, confused. "Paulson?" she asked.

Tony answered her question. "Petty Officer Derrick Paulson. Knocked over a bank. Killed two of his accomplices. Money was never found."

They vaguely heard Gibbs speaking into the phone. "Paulson's prison cell. I want to see what was in it."

Jenny eyed him and then looked at Timmi. "This would be an excellent time to confirm the arrangements for after your son is born, Agent McGee," she said pointedly.

Timmi looked at Gibbs for a second and then stood up. "I agree, Director Shepard," she said, and they both quickly left the bullpen.

Ziva and Tony looked at Lee who had continued to work throughout recent events. They exchanged a look and then hurried down to autopsy to tell Ducky about Gibbs' return.

**NCIS**

"Anything good?" Gibbs asked as he walked into Abby's lab.

Abby answered absently. "Yeah. It's a jailhouse appeal from some escaped convict. The guy really knows his forensics." Then it hit her who she was talking to and she gasped. "I knew it! I knew it! I won't need these anymore now that you're actually here!" she said, taking his face off of her screen, "I knew you'd come back!"

"I'm not back."

"Of course you're back. I can feel your badge." She pulled away from his hug. "It is your badge, right?"

He raised an eyebrow as if to ask, 'What else would it be?', but he ignored the question. "Reinstatement's only temporary, Abs. Until I can find Paulson."

Abby snorted. "We'll see about that. So what can I do for you, Temporarily Reinstated Agent Gibbs?"

"Process the contents of Paulson's cell."

"What am I looking for? Oh, right! Anything to help you find him."

"I want to know what he was up to before he escaped. Unless the three of you have any other suggestions?" he asked the room.

Tony answered from the bullpen, "Actually, it's only me and Ziva, and we were… we were just eavesdropping like little girls. But we do have suggestions."

Ziva spoke. "Prison records show that only one person ever came to visit Paulson in jail."

"Mickey Stokes. Seventy-two. Former Navy Sailor," said Tony.

"And since Paulson has no family, we should assume that he'll try to contact Mickey."

"And I already have an address," Tony finished triumphantly.

"Okay. Tony, Ziva, you're with me. And where the hell is McGee?"

"She's talking with the director."

"Why?"

Everyone ignored the question. "I'll tell Cynthia to tell Timmi that when she's done, to come down and help you process Paulson's belongings, Abby," Tony said before hanging up.

Gibbs' forehead creased in confusion. "What was that about?"

"What was what about?"

"The thing with McGee."

"Oh. Nothing."

Gibbs stared at her. Abby had suddenly closed him off, and she had never done that before. Obviously, from the reactions of Tony, Abby, and Ziva, something was going on with McGee. And while she wasn't his agent anymore, he still planned on figuring it out.

**NCIS**

At the address Tony had provided, Tony and Ziva climbed out of the car. "Gibbs seemed awfully quiet in the car," Tony said as they approached the door.

"Well, it is not like you were giving him a chance to talk, Tony. Are you nervous he is going to want his old job back?"

"No, I'm just bringing him up to speed on the latest protocols... But I have a feeling that he didn't hear a word I said."

"... I feel the same... Do you think that he has caught on?"

"Unless Mexico turned him into a different person, I'm sure he has. The only question is, is he going to actually do something about it?"

Just then the door opened and an old man, presumably Mickey, started to yell at them. "What took you hot-shots so long? He's been waiting over an hour! Hey, shoes off!" he said as they rushed into the house and cleared it.

"Where is he?" Gibbs asked him.

"Well, I never said he was here."

Gibbs stared at him for a moment until his phone rang. "Gibbs."

"I didn't expect to hear your voice. I heard you quit." Paulson said.

"Retired," Gibbs corrected.

Paulson laughed. "At your age? That's quitting."

Gibbs ignored that. "Why don't you turn yourself in? You can tell me about this in person."

"Turn myself in for what? I'm an innocent man."

"Try broken record."

"So you're not going to reopen my case?"

"We both know what I'll find if I do. So why don't you tell me what you really want?"

"I already got it, Agent Gibbs," Paulson said and hung up.

Tony turned to Gibbs. "So what does he really want?"

Gibbs turned around and opened the front door to reveal an empty yard. "Our car," he said.

**NCIS**

Ziva looked at the walls of Mickey's home. They were filled with pictures of him and Paulson. She turned to Tony and said, "They appear to be close."

Tony closed his phone. "Well, they say a way to a man's heart is through his stomach. Meals on Wheels. Looks like Paulson was a volunteer."

"He volunteered to put… meals on wheels?"

"They bring food to the elderly, Ziva," Tony gave her a look as Fornell and his team walked through the door.

"Where's Gibbs?" he asked them and they pointed to the living room.

He walked in to see Gibbs staring at an older man. "Who's this?"

"Mickey Stokes. He's the one helping Paulson."

"Of course I'm helping him! Derrick was like a son to me. I was the closest thing he had to family. What would you do if it was your kid in trouble?"

Fornell leaned forward. "I would have told him to give himself up before he got hurt."

"Well, I'm glad you ain't my old man, Fornell."

"And I certainly wouldn't let him steal my car," he said pointedly to Gibbs.

"Didn't. It was DiNozzo's car."

"He just wants you to reopen his case! You been reading my letters the past four years? You bozos got the wrong guy," Mickey fumed.

"Paulson took advantage of you, Mickey," said Fornell calmly, "He only brought you food because you lived near the bank he was casing."

"You wasted your life savings defending the wrong guy."

Mickey was distracted by one of the agents searching his house for evidence. "Hey, not my computer! I've got an online date tonight!"

"Where is he, Mickey?"

"He doesn't know," Gibbs said without hesitation.

"Are you sure? Want to hit him for aiding and abetting?"

"He did shelter Paulson and gave him money."

Tony stepped forward. "I say we use him as bait. Give Mickey a pass, put a man on him in case Paulson comes back."

Gibbs and Fornell shrugged. "You're the boss," Gibbs said.

Tony's phone rang. He excused himself and answered it. "Yeah... Where?... Anything in it?..."

He shut his phone and turned back to them. "D. C. Metro just found our car half a mile from here. The only thing missing was my laptop."

"And every file we had on Paulson."

Mickey interrupted. "I told you! He just… he just wants to work on his case."

"Except he's had all his case files since the trial," Fornell pointed out to him.

"Perhaps ours have something his did not, " Ziva shrugged.

"They do."

"The addresses of the witnesses who testified against him," Tony said, grimly.

"He's not a threat to anyone! He's on the run and unarmed," Mickey argued.

"Do you keep any weapons in the house?" Ziva asked.

"Oh, great. Now you're going to pin another crime on him? Just my old Colt."

"Where is it?" the agents said together.

**NCIS**

"Paulson could be after any one of a half-dozen witnesses. I've never seen a convicted felon file so many appeals. It's an abuse of the system," Lee complained.

Abby shrugged. "We're all entitled to our day in court."

"Not according to Agent Gibbs. I've gone over his case files. He seems to prefer a more… Biblical approach to things. If you ask me, the agency is better off without him."

Abby slammed a book on the counter, making Agent Lee let out a small scream.

"I like you, Michelle. So I'm just going to pretend like you didn't say that! NCIS is lucky to have Gibbs back!"

"Except he's not staying. And after what he did to poor Agent McGee..."

Abby shushed her and said, "She's forgiven him. And you do realize..."

"You can kill me without leaving any forensic evidence behind? Yeah. You mentioned that."

"Good then. It's settled. Gibbs is staying. He has to. Right, Gibbs?"

Agent Lee whirled around to find Gibbs standing behind her.

"What do you got for me, Abby?" he asked, ignoring Lee.

"Paulson's fingerprints on the gun case and on Mickey's computer."

Lee had recovered enough to add, "And he's also visited over a dozen people search sites. I think he was looking for someone."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow at her. "Yeah, I got that part."

"No names yet, but I'm using the FBI's mainframe to decrypt the search cache." The computer dinged. "Well, you always did have really good timing."

The screen was suddenly filled with an older woman. "Mickey! Where the hell is Mickey, you tramp!?"

Abby yelled, "Mickey isn't here!" and exited out of the program. Seeing the look on Gibbs' face, she explained. "It's Mickey's online playmate. She keeps tunneling through my firewall."

Gibbs nodded once. "Russell Nash."

Lee managed to get out, "Apparently he's..." before Gibbs interrupted. "The only accomplice Paulson didn't kill."

Lee nodded. "Yeah, and the one he really should have. Nash copped a plea and testified against Paulson. Paulson got life, and Nash walked in eighteen months. Skipped out on his parole. Hasn't been seen since."

"Well, if the money was never found, then maybe Paulson is looking for Nash because he thinks Nash has the money," Abby said.

Gibbs eyed Lee as he said, "Or maybe Paulson is looking for something a little more... Biblical."

Lee froze as he turned his icy blue glare on her. "Agent Lee, what exactly did I do to 'poor Agent McGee'?"

He turned to Abby. "And why did she need to forgive me?"

The two women exchanged a long look before running into Abby's office and locking the door behind them. Gibbs blinked at the women in mild shock before shaking his head and walking towards the door. "I'll just ask DiNozzo and David then."

Abby quickly pulled out her phone and sent a text to both Tony and Ziva.

'Lee let something slip. Gibbs headed ur way. Take cover.'

**NCIS**

Tony and Ziva stared at their phones in horror. Then at each other. Then back at their phones. Then at each other for a moment before they both ran for the staircase. They reached the base just as the back elevator opened and Gibbs stepped out. The agents stared at each other for a long moment before Tony and Ziva ran up the stairs as quickly as possible, Gibbs charging after them.

They zoomed past Cynthia and into the director's office where Timmi and Jenny were sitting. They quickly locked the door and began to barricade it.

"What on earth are you doing?" Jenny asked them.

Tony was breathing heavily, but managed to get out, "Lee slipped... Timmi... after us... fast..." before falling to the ground in exhaustion. He jumped back up with a terrified squeak when something heavy hit the door.

Timmi and Jenny blinked as what was presumably Gibbs hit the door again, making the room shudder.

"Huh?" they asked.

Ziva placed her back against the door and shoved her heels into the carpet. "Agent Lee let something slip about Timmi. We are doing what Abby told us to do: take cover."

"And why in my office?"

"It was made to protect against bombs. It seemed the logical choice."

"Yes, it is a bomb shelter, but against a determined Gibbs? It stands no chance."

Jenny stood up, "Agent McGee, hide in the bathroom. Agents David and DiNozzo, unbarricade that door."

"Why do I have to hide? You guys are protecting me from something I don't need protecting from!"

"Just do as I say, Agent McGee."

Timmi huffed, but did as she was asked. When the last piece of furniture was moved away Tony slowly unlocked the door. It was immediately thrown open with a crash.

Gibbs stood in the doorway and stared at them. "What are you hiding from me?"

Jenny sat in her chair. "I don't think it matters. After all, you're leaving as soon as this case is solved."

He glared at her. "What. Did. I. Do.?"

Jenny sat forward. "If you can't remember, then it can't that important to you."

"But it's important to them," he pointed at Ziva and Tony, "Important enough that they're hiding McGee."

"They aren't hiding her," Jenny said, rolling her eyes.

"Then how come in the three or so days I've spent here since coming back, not once have I seen McGee?"

"Coincidence."

"I don't believe in coincidence."

Jenny ignored his last statement. "Solve this case, Jethro. Then you can pack up and leave. But don't count on seeing McGee."

He raised an eyebrow. "They aren't the only ones 'hiding her', Agent Gibbs. Now go, I think that Ducky might have some things for you."

**NCIS**

"In your own words, the difference between ethics and morals," Jimmy said.

"Well, the ethical man knows he shouldn't cheat on his wife. Whereas the moral man actually wouldn't."

"You're going to ace your oral exams, Doctor."

"Going back to school?" Gibbs asked as he walked through the doors.

"I never stopped."

"The doctor's getting a degree in forensic psychology," Jimmy explained.

"Yes, and with it I'll be able to add the psychological autopsy to my arsenal. I'll not only be able to uncover the "hows" of our patients' demise, but the why's as well. I mean, what motivates us can be a very tricky thing. I was wondering when you were going to come down and see me," Ducky said pointedly.

"I've been busy."

"Or avoiding me. I wonder why that could be."

"I'm not staying."

"Oh, I didn't think you were. I'm aware that when Leroy Jethro Gibbs makes up his mind, his mind's made up. So… why are you here?"

"The Paulson case. How much do you know?"

"Well, I took the liberty of examining the M. E. 's reports on Paulson's two murdered accomplices."

"Anything bug you?"

"It's about as watertight a case as I've ever seen, pathologically thinking. Why? Do you suspect foul play in the foul play?"

"No."

"Yet you're down here asking me if anything "bugs you" about the case. Are you getting one of those famous gut instincts again?"

"I've already had that. And it said that Paulson was guilty."

"When Leroy Jethro Gibbs makes up his mind, his mind's made up. Too bad for Petty Officer Paulson. Let's hope things work out better for you in Mexico."

Tony called Gibbs at that moment and explained that Paulson had called his tip hotline and left a message. He listened to it and then hung up. He glared at Jimmy for a moment, until Jimmy made an excuse to leave.

Ducky turned to him. "Something's bothering you."

"Yeah," Gibbs leaned against a table, "I was just upstairs... I think I did something wrong, Duck."

Ducky eyed him for a moment. "You did," he said simply.

"What did I _do_?"

"Are you going to stay if you know what you did?"

"No. Why would I?"

"Then I cannot tell you."

"_Why_?"

"Jethro... What you are asking me to do is exactly what you _wouldn't_ want me to do."

"Huh?"

"I... We are protecting Timothea."

"Why do you need to? I _need to know_ what I've done, Duck."

"... It's not up to me to tell you. I would have told you when you first came to help Ziva, but... Let's just say that your team had taken up your duty spectacularly."

"Duty?"

"Protection. Timothea believes that she doesn't need it, but the rest of them aren't taking any chances."

"Why would Thea need protection, from me?" Gibbs wondered as he left.

Ducky whirled around to face an empty room. Jimmy walked in a few minutes later and roused him from his shock.

"Dr. Mallard? Are you all right?"

Ducky looked once more at the closed doors in wonderment. "I do believe, Mr. Palmer, that this will not be the last case Leroy Jethro Gibbs will solve."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because. He's beginning to remember."

**NCIS**

Later, the team had gathered in the bullpen and were comparing notes after an unsuccessful raid.

"The public defender who represented Paulson is out on maternity leave," said Jenny.

"Prosecutor?" Tony asked.

"Naval reservist. Deployed to Iraq two years ago," replied Ziva.

Timmi spoke up from her desk. "Killed by an IED last month."

"Unless we find someone familiar with the Paulson case, it'll take us days just to catch up to speed, much less anticipate Paulson's next move," Lee said.

"Relax. Gibbs brought in Mickey Stokes. No one knows Paulson better than him. Which reminds me," she turned to Timmi, "I need you to run down to Cybercrimes for me."

Timmi raised an eyebrow. It was clear from her expression that she knew what they were doing, but she went anyway.

As soon as the back elevator closed its doors, the main elevator dinged open. Gibbs walked in Mickey just as Mickey asked, "So what changed your mind about my boy? Great Oz finally give you guys a heart?"

"Who said I changed my mind?" Gibbs asked.

"It definitely wasn't a brain," was the biting reply.

"If Paulson was framed, we need to find out how."

"Well, maybe it was a brain. Either way, thank you. I've waited a long time for someone to listen."

"Don't thank me just yet. Jury had two weeks. They didn't buy it that Paulson was framed. You have one day to convince our forensic scientist otherwise," Gibbs said as they walked into Abby's lab.

She looked over at them from the monitors, then walked over and held out her hand. "You must be Mickey."

Mickey eyed the goth. "Well, I'll be whoever you want me to be!"

Gibbs patted him on the back, a smirk on his face. "Mickey, you'll do just fine."

**NCIS**

"So it was four wives. Unless there's anything else you want to tell me," Fornell said as he and Gibbs sat in his living room.

"Is there something you want to know, Tobias?"

"You had a family, Jethro. I know you like to play it close to the vest, but… hell, I was married to your second wife!"

"I tried to warn you."

"I know. I know."

There was a long pause. "Have you seen McGee, Tobias?"

"... When?"

"Since we started this case."

"... Yes."

"Why are they protecting her? Why can't I see her?"

"... I think it's best that I don't answer that."

"_WHY_?"

Fornell turned to Gibbs. "Why is it such a huge deal?"

"Because, according to everyone I've talked too, I hurt her!"

"... You did."

"_What did I do_, Tobias?"

"I can't answer that, Jethro. Not because I don't know, but because you won't believe me if I tell you. You haven't fully recovered from your... Incident. Once you do... Well, you won't need someone to tell you what you did."

**NCIS**

The next day, Ziva and Gibbs sat in the car, watching Tony try to talk to a sign flipper.

"Do you think you could be happy flipping a sign all day?" she asked.

"I don't know."

"I think you'd get bored. I'm just saying a man of your drive and ambition needs a certain kind of..."

"I'm not staying, Ziva."

"That obvious? So? How'd it go?" she asked Tony who had just crawled into the backseat.

"I'll tell you in twenty seconds."

Abby's voice came over the speaker. " He's already making a call."

Timmi, who was helping her, spoke without thinking. "Putting it on speaker."

Everyone froze. Gibbs' eyes found the speaker and he said, "McGee?"

"... Hi, Boss."

Before Gibbs could respond, Nash's voicemail interrupted.

"Hey, you got Nash. Leave me a message after the beep."

Tony tried to defuse the tension by saying, "I'd say that went well," but it didn't work.

"Hey, Nash. This is Gary.I know you told me to call you here never, man, but there were some Feds here and they were asking questions about that tat."

"Baltimore prefix," Timmi said.

"At least I think they were Feds. I never heard of no NCIS."

"Got it. Eighty-two West Pratt Street, apartment twelve," said Abby.

"I know it," Tony said, eyeing Gibbs who looked ready to explode, "Forty miles north of here."

"Have fun!" Abby said quickly and hung up.

Ziva and Tony exchanged terrified looks. Gibbs was angry... and an angry Gibbs was an even worse driver than usual. They were so dead.

**NCIS**

A couple of hours later, Abby was frantically calling security. "You are security, right? Don't let Gibbs leave the building! I already told you why, Tom!"

"Abby?"

"Nevermind! False alarm!" she shouted into the phone before closing it and turning to Gibbs. "Gibbs, thank god! I was so sure that you'd be halfway to Mexico by now." She stood next to him and handcuffed herself to him. "Sorry. You're a flight risk."

"Abby!"

"We're going to figure out this case, Gibbs! We always do!... Wait, you already figured it out."

"No, but you're going to. I want to know how Paulson knows."

"Knows what?"

"Everything. Everything that we seem to... And I want to know where McGee is."

"I'll get started on the first one... And I'll take care of the second after you solve this case."

**NCIS**

Gibbs walked into the bullpen just as Tony was saying, "We have a dead man who shouldn't be dead. An innocent man who isn't really innocent. And a trail that's about to run cold because our perp has managed to stay one step ahead of us since this whole thing started!"

"Are you just noticing that now, DiNozzo?" he asked as he walked over to his desk and grabbed the radio.

"No, it's kind of been a theme," Tony said as Gibbs banged the radio down.

"Careful. That's easy to..." Gibbs whipped out his knife and took off the back of the radio to show a small circular device, otherwise known as a bug. "Break," he finished.

Only a few minutes later, they were gathered in Abby's lab.

"It's a shortwave RF bug. Paulson probably planted it in your Dictaphone when he stole your car. And I've been burning campfires to CDE. The Dictaphone has been in my lab pretty much the entire day."

"At least now we know how Paulson tracked down Russell Nash."

Abby grabbed it with a pair of tweezers. "There's the little bugger."

"Can you backtrack it, Abs?" questioned Gibbs.

"It's impossible without a private cipher. But I think I know where we can get one. Paulson's crew bugged the bank's general manager for two weeks before the robbery. It was a custom job, just like this one. The cops interviewed the bug-maker. Cleared him of any involvement. I would bet a Caf-POW! that this came from the same guy."

"How can you tell?" Tony asked.

"Because he signed his name."

**NCIS**

"'It is a crime for any person acting under color of the law to deprive any citizen of their legal rights.' Title Eighteen, U. S. Code," their suspect said.

Ziva was exasperated. "No one is depriving you of your rights. We are simply asking for a copy of the cipher you made!"

"'No one shall be compelled in any criminal case to a witness against himself.' That'd be the Fifth Amendment."

"No one has accused you of a crime either."

"Then why did your goon confiscate my files?"

Inside the observation room, Timmi grinned at Tony. "Goon?" she teased.

Tony shrugged. "I need to stop hunching my shoulders."

Timmi giggled while Tony answered his phone. "No, I said every exit, not every other exit... For the same reason you don't floss every other tooth!" he exclaimed, making Timmi laugh harder.

Then, without warning, the door opened, revealing Gibbs. He seemed not to notice Timmi as he asked Tony, "Where's that cipher, DiNozzo?"

"We hit a little snafu, Boss. Gibbs." he corrected. "If this keeps up, we may be forced to unleash Agent Lee."

Gibbs backed out of the room and entered interrogation a minute later. "... That was odd. He's been wanting to see you for the past two days, but when he actually has the chance, he doesn't seem to notice you," Tony told Timmi.

She simply shrugged and gestured to the action on the other side of the window. "Well, this should be quick."

"It better be. We've got a fugitive on the run with a pretty big lead. The Fugitive!"

Timmi groaned as Gibbs asked the suspect, "You got something to hide?" who replied, "What? So I refuse to talk, and that means I'm guilty? You ever hear of Miranda vs Arizona, nineteen sixty-six?"

"I've been here all this time. How could I have missed it? It's that simple," Tony raved as Ziva entered the room.

"Missed what?" she asked.

"Gibbs is clearly Tommy Lee Jones, right? I mean, there's no argument there. Which makes me Joey Pants. Initially, I was a little, you know..."

"How did this happen?" Ziva asked Timmi softly, "We have been avoiding the word fugitive for the last two days."

Timmi shrugged. "He made the connection himself." The two women turned their attention to interrogation ignoring DiNozzo's movie rant.

"I run a lawfully licensed spy shop. I'm not responsible for what my clientele does with my product. I don't have to answer any more of your questions, no matter what you say!"

There was a long pause before Gibbs leaned forward. "I've got this little girl... who wants to go home to her dad. And that's not going to happen without your help. So... please?"

And in observation, two jaws dropped and one woman smiled. "Did Gibbs just say...?" Tony asked, aghast.

Timmi nodded thoughtfully, "Yep. Ya know, the last time he said 'please' was about six months ago. We were doing this thing..." Tony cut her off by sticking his fingers in his ears and yelling, "La la la! Not hearing you talk about your sex life with the boss! La la la!"

Ziva raised an eyebrow at Timmi, who winked and said, "I'll tell you later."

They didn't even notice Gibbs leave interrogation, but they did notice when he threw open the door to observation. "Did you..." he managed to get out before his eyes landed on Timmi. Immediately memories flew before his eyes: sitting with her at the dining room table, eating; reading with her on the couch; listening to her typewriter as he sanded wood in the basement; their various rendezvous... Pictures of his life with her. And as soon as those passed by, a voice came, saying very familiar words: _"Congratulations, Miss McGee. You're going to have a baby."_

He blinked and the memories passed. His eyes fell on her rounded stomach. The pain filled him suddenly, but forcefully and he fell to his knees.

Timmi had seen the change in his eyes and rushed to him once his knees hit the floor. His shoulders had slumped and his chin rested on his chest as tears ran down his face. Timmi placed her soft hands on his cheeks and made him look at her. Their eyes met and she whispered with tears streaming down her face, "Hello, Jethro."

He placed his hands on top of hers and responded, just as quietly, "Hello, Thea." Tony and Ziva watched awkwardly with the tech before tiptoeing around the couple and out the door.

They stood in the hall for a moment before Tony said, "We'll just let them talk it out for a minute." And they walked away.

Meanwhile, Gibbs was apologizing profusely. "I'm so sorry, Thea. I'm so damn sorry."

"I know. And I forgave you a long time ago."

He smiled through the tears. "You always did have a forgiving heart."

"It didn't take any effort at all... I couldn't understand what you were going through, but I could empathize. I know how much losing them once hurt you, losing them again..."

"What did I ever do to deserve a woman like you?"

"I don't know." It was a familiar routine, one that had happened hundreds of times between them. The magic of the moment was lost when Timmi grunted in pain. Gibbs became alert at once, "What happened? Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine," she smiled, rubbing her stomach, "Your son just kicked me in the ribs."

He froze. "A boy?" he breathed.

"A boy," Timmi smiled.

He placed a hand on her stomach and the baby kicked his hand. "A boy," he said reverently, looking into her eyes. She smiled her beautiful smile, and he couldn't help but kiss her. It only lasted a few seconds, but it was a few seconds of heaven.

She pulled back and grinned. "Agent Gibbs, I do hope you know that you have to earn me back."

"Earn you back?" he said, raising an eyebrow.

"Yes! You broke my heart and now you have to fix it. I'm worth it, aren't I?"

Gibbs' smile filled her heart with joy. "Thea... You're worth more than anything in the world. If that means that I have to work a bit to win you back, so be it."

Timmi laughed. "A bit? I think you're underestimating my worth, Jethro."

"Fine," he grinned, "A lot of work then. Trust me, Thea. You're worth every drop of blood, every trickle of sweat, and every shed tear.

"You know, for a functional mute, you're pretty good with words."

"I learned from the best."

"Meaning me?"

"How did you know?"

"I learned from the best."

**NCIS**

"I just came by to tell you that Derek Paulson has been cleared of all charges. You saved that boy's life," Jenny said walking down the stairs into Gibbs' basement.

"He did most of the work," Gibbs said as he scooted a box into the corner with his foot.

"Don't sell yourself short. Or is it too late for that?" she asked, leaning against the staircase

"Is this supposed to be some sort of pep talk to get me to stay, Jen? You don't want me back."

"No, I don't."

Gibbs looked at her over his shoulder and smirked, "Worried you won't be able to handle me, Director?"

"No, Jethro. I'm afraid you won't be able to handle yourself. You have already been in two comas. You might not come out of the third. The fact is, you're good. The best. When you're as good at something as you are, when you can make a difference like you can, you just don't quit," Jenny turned to walk upstairs, but Gibbs' words stopped her cold.

"I'm going to stay."

She whirled around in shock to find Gibbs smirking at her reaction. "Thanks for the load of B.S. you just fed me, but I'd already decided to stay."

Jenny nodded in sudden understanding. "You saw McGee, didn't you?"

A soft smile graced his lips as he answered. "Yeah, I did. She's even more beautiful than I remembered..."

Jenny raised an eyebrow at the rather un-Gibbs like response before he spoke again. "Thanks, Jen."

"For what?"

"For taking care of them... And for protecting her from me."

Jenny walked forward and placed a hand on his shoulder. "Jethro... You're welcome. And, to go off record, I'm glad you're coming back."

And Gibbs grinned, actually grinned as he said, "So am I, Jen. So am I."

**I love reading your reviews, it always makes my day! This chapter is thanks to all of you who've pushed me to keep writing!**


	13. Singled Out

**Aww... You guys are so good to me! In honor of you, I present this chapter. Enjoy it my friends!**

**Disclaimer: Do I really have to do this? You guys know I don't own it, I know I don't own it, and the entire world knows I don't own it. Nevertheless, If you recognize it, I don't own it. Kudos to those who do, though!**

Tony stepped into the director's office and looked around. His eyes landed on the flowers sitting on her desk and he walked over to examine them. He jumped a moment later when Jenny spoke from behind him. "Is there a reason you're touching my flowers, Tony?"

He turned quickly around and smiled at her. "I was just admiring them, Jenny. Flowers are a passion of mine."

She smirked. "Really? So then you'd know how rare and expensive they are."

Tony nodded sagely and said, "Oh yeah."

"And their name?" Jenny asked as she raised an eyebrow.

"Of course," Tony cleared his throat, "Um, well, judging by the color and of course the green things they're attached to..."

"Stems."

"Stems. Uh, these... are right on the tip of my tongue."

"Phalaenopsis orchids."

"Orchids. Of course, they're orchids." He handed her the card that he had taken from the boquete. "This flipped out when I was sniffing them." Jenny accepted it and moved around her desk to sit.

"Tony... How would you rate your recent performance as team leader?"

"I'd say it was a solid B-." He was quiet for a moment while he studied her face. "I'm being fired, aren't I?" he asked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"If this has to do with Gibbs coming back, I have no problem working for him."

Jenny pulled a folder from her desk and handed it to him. "These orders are for you."

Tony took them nervously and stared at them in shock once he had read them. "NCIS Rota, Spain?" he asked in astonishment.

"Your own team. Congratulations."

"Wow, uh… I don't know what to say," Tony said, blinking.

"Your performance these last four months has been exemplary. You've earned it."

Tony looked at her. "What about La Grenouille? That took months getting in."

"You're not getting too involved, are you?" she asked as she sat back in her chair.

"Only in the mission. If we put another agent undercover, La Grenouille will smell it."

"So you're passing on a promotion that any other agent in this building would kill for all because you're worried about some long-shot mission? I don't think so."

"Okay... I'm worried about Jethro."

"Jethro is fine, Tony. Or have you not seen him flirting with Agent McGee?"

"Then how do you explain that thing on his upper lip? He looks like Wilford Brimley, Junior," he exclaimed, throwing his hands up.

"So you're turning down a promotion because of a moustache?"

"No." Tony sat in one of the chairs facing the directors desk. "I'm turning it down because my family is down there in that bullpen. I'm not going to accept my own team until I can no longer work for Gibbs."

Jenny smiled. "I thought you were going to say that, but I thought I needed to give you the option."

"Thank you for the offer, though," he said, standing up.

"You're going to be a great team leader someday, Tony," she said as he walked out of the room.

**NCIS**

Tony's phone rang just as he exited the directors office. He answered without even thinking about it. "DiNozzo," he said, only to roll his eyes at the man on the other line. "Stop calling me from dispatch, will you, Mulvaney? I'm not the team leader anymore. Gibbs is... Trust me, it makes a difference! Now, call him and leave me alone!" he shouted into the speaker as he walked into the bullpen.

"Problems, Tony?" Ziva asked from Timmi's desk.

"Wrong number, Ziva. What are you two doing?" he asked as Gibbs cell rang.

"We are cola-ing with Abby," Ziva said.

"Collaborating, Ziva," he drawled, "And what about?"

The women exchanged a look and waved him over, but Gibbs stood up at that moment.

"Grab your gear! We're heading out," he said, pausing when Timmi stood up and grabbed her bag. "Um... Where do you think you're going, Thea?" Gibbs asked in confusion.

She looked at him funnily. "You said to gear up, Boss."

"But you're not coming."

Timmi folded her arms across her chest and raised an eyebrow. "And why not?"

His eyebrows creased momentarily before he turned to Tony. "Did you allow her to process crime scenes DiNozzo?"

Tony shifted uncomfortably. "Um... In my defense... I didn't have a large enough team... And I had a hopeless probie..."

Gibbs rolled his eyes and said, "Shut up, DiNozzo. I don't want to hear it." He turned to Timmi. "Okay, you can come. But," he said as she relaxed, "You can only do what I tell you to do. And if there is even a _hint _of danger, or you don't listen to me, you will not see the field for a _very_ long time."

Timmi smirked and gave him a snappy salute. "Yes, sir!" she yelled. He returned her smirk and put his hand on the small of her back, leading her in front of him.

**NCIS**

"Boss, vehicle's registered to a Navy Lieutenant Anne Sullivan – is a computer programmer for base housing. Reported U. A. this morning. First time in her career," Timmi said as they examined the scene.

"Witnesses?"

"911 call. Two motorists reported a man driving her vehicle with a bloody woman screaming in back. I'm assuming that's our missing Lieutenant."

"Assuming?"

"Well, Fredericksburg P. D. has descriptions of both the woman and her abductor. They're sending them to NCIS as we speak," said Timmi.

"That's a good job, Thea," Gibbs said as he went through the car.

"Can I help you find something, Boss?" Timmi asked.

"My notepads," he said, his mustache rippling.

"Oh," she said, "Right back here. We reorganized the supplies. Tony felt this way was more efficient."

"You don't say," was his response as the pregnant woman handed over his notepad.

Timmi examined his expression. "Well, you know," she slowly said, "I could put them back the way it was before you... retired."

Gibbs eyed her. "Well, that depends, Thea. Is it more efficient?"

She shrugged and said, "Seems to be."

He raised an eyebrow. "Then leave them where they are."

"Gibbs!" called Ziva.

Timmi turned to him and grabbed his hand, holding it close to her chest. "Go to her, Jethro," she said dramatically, "I'll be here... Waiting for you to return."

Gibbs snorted and shook his head fondly. "You haven't changed a bit," he said, untangling himself and walking away.

Timmi called after him, "Wait! You're not going to play along? Shame on you sir! Shame on you!"

Ziva and Tony were laughing when he reached them. He gestured for them to tell him what they found and Ziva calmed herself enough to explain. "There appears to have been a struggle. Multiple hand and fingerprints. A lost shoe. A pair of glasses. And I don't believe she was slaughtered. At least not in the back of this vehicle."

Tony turned to her. "Why is that?" he asked interestedly.

"The traces of blood are all from skin contact. A more serious wound would have left pools of it. Enough criminal investigating for you, Tony?" she asked, an eyebrow raised.

Tony shrugged as Gibbs spoke. "Lieutenant Sullivan's address. She lives in Culpeper," he said, handing a piece of paper to Ziva.

Tony spoke without thinking. "Take McGee. If you leave now, you can avoid traffic. Anything unusual, you call me," he got out before freezing in horror. "I mean, you know, you do... you... whatever you want them to do, Boss," he said sheepishly.

**NCIS**

Tony grimaced as he drove him and Ziva to Lieutenant Sullivan's address. "So I got used to being in charge, sue me."

"I do not blame you, Tony," Ziva said in a soothing voice, "But I want to know... Why must you always drive?"

"I could say it's because I'm the Senior Field Agent. But mostly because I want to live," Tony said.

"Well then, my friend, I recommend you getting unused to being in charge, before Gibbs decides to kill you."

"... I concur," Tony answered, shuddering.

**NCIS**

"Tow truck should be here any minute, Boss," Timmi said as she carefully took pictures of the inside of the van.

"You find the other shoe yet, Thea?" Gibbs asked as he held out a hand to help her out of the vehicle.

"Well, there's only one in the vehicle," she responded as she took the proffered hand, "But, if it were me, I would lose the other shoe as quickly as possible. Walking with only one high heel on is a pain in the ass."

Gibbs' attention was caught by something smaller off a little ways. "Hey look at this," he said to Timmi who walked over, "Blood smears on the pavement. If she was carried, they'd be drops. And what looks like a strand of nylon thread. Maybe it was from a stocking."

Timmi shrugged. "Maybe she fell and scraped her knee."

Gibbs nodded absently. "Mark it," he told a nearby agent. And as he did so, Gibbs stood up and looked around, his hands on his hips.

"Okay, you're looking for help, which way would you go?" he asked Timmi.

"Well, Waverley's football team was away. The lot was empty all weekend. Should have headed towards campus," she said pointing away from the trail. "But she didn't. She went in the opposite direction. She was forced," she concluded.

Gibbs smiled at her, "Good thinking, Thea. Come on. Another blood drop. Like I said, the other shoe," he said as they reached the road. "Okay, now tell me where she went."

Timmi examined the trail as closely as a woman who was seven months pregnant could, taking Gibbs' hand once more to help her rise. "There was another car. Judging by these tire tracks, they left in a hurry," she told him, pointing out the evidence.

Gibbs turned to the agent who had followed them. "Match the tires, might even find out the make and model," he instructed, before turning back to Timmi.

"Good to have you back, Jethro," she murmured as she moved in front of him. He smirked down at her and loosely placed his arms over her shoulders, drawing her near.

"Oh no, Agent Gibbs," she warned, mockingly, "Not at a crime scene!"

Gibbs leaned down and kissed her forehead. "Not anywhere until I earn you back, Agent McGee," he sighed dramatically.

Her lips were suddenly only a few centimeters away from his. "Well then," she whispered, her breath making his mouth tingle, "You better make your move." And immediately she was somehow standing a few feet away once more and heading back to the main crime scene.

The male agent was chuckling beside him and said as he passed, "You've got your hands full with her, Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs waited until no one was in sight before he let a grin spread across his face. "Yep. And that's just the way I like it."

**NCIS**

Later, in the bullpen, Timmi pulled up a pencil sketch on the screen.

"This is a police sketch-artist's rendering of what the witnesses saw late yesterday afternoon. And this," she pulled up a photograph, "Is a photo of Lieutenant Sullivan for comparison."

Tony moved closer to the screen for a moment before announcing, "I'd say that's a pretty good match."

Gibbs gave him 'the look'. "Ya think, DiNozzo?" he asked before turning to Timmi. "The driver, Thea."

"Fredericksburg PD put a BOLO out on him last night."

Tony and Gibbs spoke together. "Any hits?" they asked before Gibbs turned to Tony and raised an eyebrow.

"Sorry, Boss. Continue... if you want to, of course."

Timmi ignored the exchange. "No hits yet, but the local LEO's did match the likeness to a mug shot. Justin Farris. Arrested for car theft five years ago. Currently lives with his mother. Claims she hasn't seen him since yesterday," she pronounced, turning to look at the two men.

"Our Lieutenant had around sixteen profiles on people at her apartment," said Tony.

"Without photographs or names. I'm still waiting on the why," Gibbs responded.

"Well, me too, Boss. I'm just saying, Farris might be one of them. Our Rosetta Stone, if you will," Tony said, shrugging.

"Find him! That's good work, Thea. Not bad either, Tony," Gibbs said before walking off.

Tony and Timmi followed him with their eyes until he was lost from view. "Is it just me or does he seem a little more...?" Tony asked.

"Human?" Timmi volunteered.

"Exactly. Personally, I think it's the moustache. Lulling us into a false sense of security," Tony waved his fingers around dramatically.

Timmi rolled her eyes but said, "I really don't like that thing... In fact, I think I'll make him shave it off."

Tony turned to her, his hands clasped fervently. "Oh, please do," he begged as he fell to his knees.

Timmi simply laughed and went back to her desk.

**NCIS**

Abby set a stack of binders on the counter. "That's all of them," she said in relief.

Ziva shook her head. "It appears that one of them is missing."

"Missing what?" Gibbs asked as he walked in the lab.

"One of the profiles. Alpha-bravo-one-zero-one-six," Abby said, looking in the binder.

"Targets?" he asked in surprise.

"The binder they were kept in listed them as potential targets," Ziva answered.

"The Alpha-Bravo designations. It's how we labeled pre-planned artillery targets in the Corps," Gibbs said as he flipped through the binders.

Abby shrugged. "Maybe she was planning on dropping bombs on them."

Gibbs ignored her and asked, "What else was missing from the Lieutenant's place?"

"I am more concerned with what was left, Gibbs," Ziva answered, "Money, jewelry. It is not your typical burglary."

"This means they knew what they were looking for," Gibbs said. "What can you tell me about these?" he asked, gesturing to the binders.

"She was profiling men. All the information gathered was taken from public records," shrugged Ziva.

"Yeah, I can see that. Why?"

"Well, that is an excellent question. I was wondering that myself."

"Abby?"

"All of these were printed from the same printer. You want to know how I know?" Abby asked.

"Newer models imbed micro codes in the print that helps ID hardware to counterfeit money and documents," Gibbs reeled off from memory.

Both Abby and Ziva gave him surprised looks before Abby smirked. "Timmi told you that, didn't she?"

Gibbs simply raised an eyebrow and Abby took that as her cue to continue. "It also means that the information they represent is on her computer."

"Show me."

"I'd love to, but I can't. Not yet. Bad guys smash up real good. I'm still trying to recover the hard drives."

"How long?" Gibbs asked impatiently.

"Did I mention bad guys smash up real good, like really, really good? Probably days."

"We don't have days, Abs. Get Thea to help you," he said as he started to leave.

"Wait! There's more," she cried. "I ran the fingerprints from the SUV. I matched all of them except three to a partial handprint."

"And?" Gibbs asked as he turned back.

"And I can say with certainty, that the woman in the back of the SUV was..."

"Lieutenant Anne Sullivan. Thea already figured it out."

Abby slumped. " Okay, did she tell you this? The partial handprint that I couldn't match has a super-defined index finger. Which means it's not Sullivan's. It's the bad guy's. I'm running it now."

Gibbs turned to leave once more. "Name is Justin Farris," he said, hiding his smile.

"Timmi!" cried Abby.

"Yep," he responded before leaving.

There was silence for a few seconds before Abby spoke. "Is it just me or does he seem a little..." she paused, searching for the right word.

"Snitchy?" Ziva suggested.

"That's close enough. It's got to be that damn moustache!" she said, and banged her fist on the counter.

**NCIS**

An hour or so later, Ferris was sitting in interrogation when Gibbs walked in. Before he even had a chance to speak, Ferris said, "I voluntarily turned myself in. I'm just trying to do the right thing here, Agent Gibbs. Look, I'm admitting it, okay? I stole the damn SUV, but I didn't kidnap anyone."

"How do you explain these?" Gibbs asked, laying pictures in front of him.

"_I_ didn't know that chick was back there when I took it."

"Her name is Lieutenant Anne Sullivan!" he said loudly and then raised the volume once more. "Where is she?!" he shouted.

"I told you, I don't know. Look, I'm telling you. I just committed grand theft auto. Why the hell would I do that if I wasn't telling the truth?"

"To avoid kidnap and murder charges!"

"Whoa! She's dead?!" he squeaked girlishly, "No! No, she was alive and screaming in the back of the SUV the last time I saw her."

"Screaming what?" Gibbs asked before he had finished speaking.

"I don't know. Something about a," he snapped his fingers frantically, "Being singled out by some guy."

"What guy?"

"I didn't exactly stick around to find out, okay? I'm telling you I _didn't_ kill her." Ferris sighed. "I knew it was too good to be true. The door was open, engine running..." he looked at Gibbs sadly, "Couldn't help myself, Agent Gibbs."

"Where was it?"

"It was the Texaco station on Wildwood Road. Look, I'm telling you the first time I saw this chick... sorry, Lieutenant Sullivan... was in the rearview mirror when she woke up and started screaming."

"Last time?" Gibbs asked.

"In the lot where I dumped the ride. Look, I even dialed 911! Yeah, I hung up, but I dialed. That's gotta count for something, right? Wait. Wait, wait. There might have been another car. There was a silver Honda Accord that I thought might be tailing me. I thought somebody saw me boost the SUV at the station."

"You see the driver?"

"No, he was wearing a ball cap. I never got a good look at his face, okay? But he must have followed me. That's who you should be looking for! I'm not a kidnapper!"

"No. You're just the dirtbag that left her there to die," Gibbs said as he left the room and meet Tony in the hall.

"Ziva's running down the gas station lead. 911 hang up already checked out. Traced it to Farris' cell. Ducky wants to see you," Tony reeled off mechanically.

"About what?"

Tony shrugged. "Something about profiling Lieutenant Sullivan's profile. Maybe you should ask him. So do you think Farris is innocent?"

Gibbs was silent for a moment before responding with, "I don't know."

**NCIS**

In autopsy, Ducky was currently speaking to the objects gathered on the table in front of him. "You are quite the fascinating woman, my dear. Quite like another woman I know. Sadly, due to Darwinian evolution, men tend to cherish women's bodies rather than their minds. I must admit, I sometimes fall prey to that myself."

Gibbs walked in in time to hear his last sentence. "I thought you only talked to bodies."

"A lot has changed since you quit. Fortunately, one does not need a body for a psychological autopsy, which is what I'm doing here on our missing Lieutenant."

"It's a good thing you passed your test," Gibbs said as he picked up a movie from the table.

"Yes. It has suddenly occurred to me that I never thanked you for attending my graduation ceremony."

"No need, Duck. What do you got?"

"Um, well, a sampling of the Lieutenant's DVD collection: Under the Tuscan Sun, Sabrina, Ghost, Fried Green Tomatoes. What Tony would classify as 'chick flicks'. Yet they contrast vividly with her choice in literature. Like our Timothea, she is quite the fan of the detective and the spy genres. A dissonance made even more interesting by these. Her fitness reports. They reveal a brilliant tactical mind with little tolerance for failure. One who is highly driven. She's well traveled, but notice this..."

"Alone."

"Yes. This woman is a highly motivated loner with an odd desire for secrecy. These profiles that she keeps may indicate a need to control her environment and the people in it."

"But you don't know who they are?"

Ducky shrugged. "Well, this isn't an exact science."

Suddenly, Abby spoke from Ducky's computer monitor. "Gibbs! Gibbs! Gibbs! Over here!" she cried. As the two men stood in front of the monitor, she spoke again. "Gibbs, your girlfriend Timmi was wrong. The partial handprint..."

Tony appeared on screen. "...isn't Farris', Boss."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow. "Whose is it?"

Abby shook her head. "That we don't know yet. But what that means is that..."

"Somebody else was there," Gibbs finished for her.

**NCIS**

"Farris claims he didn't know Lieutenant Sullivan was in the vehicle when he stole it. When she started screaming, he dumped it here, with her still in it. Which means, whoever kidnapped her must have followed Farris to get the Lieutenant back," Ziva theorized.

"If he's telling the truth. That still doesn't explain why she's profiling people," Tony countered.

Ziva shrugged and said, "Blackmail. Espionage. Assassination."

Tony nodded sagely. "All good reasons why someone would want to make her disappear."

"We could be missing something," Ziva pointed out.

Tony shook his head. "Believe me, not from this angle."

"She could be a covert operative," Ziva threw out wildly.

"She's a Navy computer geek who worked on software for base housing. According to her co workers, she's Timmi's twin."

"Being a geek makes for a good cover."

"Cover for what?" Gibbs asked, walking into the bullpen.

Tony wrinkled his nose. "We're still trying to figure that out, Boss."

Gibbs turned to Ziva. "Did you pull security tapes from the gas station?"

Ziva scowled. "There were not any. System has been broken for months."

"Tire marks from the lot check out Farris' story. They're a match for a factory-standard Honda Accord," Tony said.

Gibbs considered this for a moment before gesturing for them to follow him. "Well, let's hope that Abby and Thea had better luck. Come on."

A minute or so later, they entered the lab to find Abby and Timmi asleep, cradling their heads in their arms.

Tony cocked his head and said, "I wouldn't call this luck."

Gibbs considered the two women for a minute before moving behind them and whispering, "Your computer's on fire."

Abby and Timmi woke up instantly. "Timmi!" wailed Abby, "My baby's French-frying!"

Timmi was already typing like a mad woman. "Checking internal core temperature!"

Suddenly both women stopped and whirled around in their seats to glare at the three smirking agents.

"That is so not funny, Gibbs," complained Abby.

Timmi's eyes narrowed angrily at Gibbs and he unthinkingly took a step back. "Try that again Leroy Jethro Gibbs and you won't be waking up the next morning."

Gibbs nodded meekly to show his understanding before he cleared his throat. "Tell me that you two have something."

Abby sighed. "We have something. We just don't know what it is," she said and put it on the screen. Gibbs studied it for a minute before saying, "It looks like a time table for an operation."

"The problem is," Abby said, "the events on the axis are encrypted."

"We've been trying to crack it all night," Timmi sighed and rubbed her eyes wearily.

She looked up to find her three friends and unofficial boyfriend standing uncomfortably close. She squealed and instinctively pushed herself backward, only to topple off of her chair. It was only due to the fast reflexes of the team and Abby that she escaped injury, stopping her fall only an inch away from the ground.

Gibbs was instantly by her side, helping her to her feet. "What is wrong with you people?" she cried when she had recovered her breath.

"Sorry, Timmi," they chorused except for Gibbs, who eyed her worriedly. There was an awkward silence for a few seconds before Abby spoke. "We were able to pull some programs off her directory. This is the only one that stands out. MorphPro. It's super high end imaging software. It's unusual, because it retails for over five thousand dollars."

Tony whistled, impressed. "Big bucks on a Lieutenant's salary."

"What is it for?" Ziva asked.

"Morphing human features. Um, we pulled some test runs out of her cache," Abby responded, throwing a worried look at Timmi who was unconsciously leaning in Gibbs, who had wrapped his arms around her.

"Ah, yeah. This is like the end of Saving Private Ryan. You know, when Matt Damon morphs into his older self. Anybody else get head faked by that? 'Cause Tom Hanks was who I thought..." Tony babbled.

Ziva ignored Tony's movie rant. "I have seen software like this before, Abby. Mossad used earlier versions to age Nazi war criminals. It was a great asset to hunting them down."

"So what you're telling me," said Gibbs as he held Timmi a little closer, "Is that we have nothing."

"Gibbs!" cried Abby, shocked. "Ziva's talking about Nazis. I wouldn't exactly call Nazi's nothing."

"Abby," he said warningly.

"We have nothing until we crack her encryptions," she admited.

"You mean if," said Timmi as she determinedly disengaged herself from Gibbs' embrace. "It's high level. It's extremely sophisticated."

Ducky's voice permeated the room. "Would her password help?" he asked.

Abby looked at the screen where Ducky had appeared. "Well yeah, Ducky, but we don't have it."

"Well, I just spent a long night in our Lieutenant's head. I may be able to offer some suggestions. Try Coral Gables."

Timmi typed in his suggestion and nothing happened. "Uh... Fiddler's Green." Again, nothing. "Hampton Inn." Nothing.

"Nice try. Tony, Ziva, with me," said Gibbs, and after throwing one last look at Timmi, he moved toward the door as Ducky suggested, "Spanish Rose."

The computer beeped and the three agents whirled around. "Whoa!" cried Abby in awe

"We're in! Ducky, that's..." Timmi said, amazed.

"... Mind-blowingly amazing," finished Abby.

Ducky was his usual humble self. "It's more of an art, than a science. Oh, Lieutenant Sullivan was indeed into targeting people. She was using all her military knowledge and skills to find a husband."

"Well, it looks like she found herself a psycho instead, Dr. Mallard," Gibbs said in response as he left.

**NCIS**

Timmi had moved from Abby's lab to the bullpen, mostly because her desk chair was much more comfortable than the wooden stool in the lab.

"Now that we have access to her files, we can see she was using MorphPro to predict the appearance of her adult offspring," Timmi said, a strange expression on her face.

"Creepy. No wonder she couldn't find a husband," Tony said.

Both women nodded in agreement before Timmi suddenly started to giggle like a madwoman. "What?" chorused Tony and Ziva.

"I wonder what would happen if you two hooked up?" Timmi replied as she worked some geek magic. "Guys, meet your love child."

Both Tony and Ziva roared with laughter at the picture of the baby that had appeared on the screen.

"Do you and Gibbs," they said together. Timmi shrugged and a few seconds later a new picture appeared. A handsome young man with intense blue eyes, curly blond hair, and a winning smile grinned at them from the screen.

There was silence in the bullpen for a few moments while they each studied the photo. "Well, Agent McGee, it appears that you have a heart breaker on the way," Tony teased her.

"Yes," Ziva agreed, "I would date him in a heartbeat."

"Never more than once, Ziva," Gibbs said as he walked into the bullpen and looked at the screen. He smiled at Timmi and she blushed as Abby spoke. "Ah! You and Timmi make nice Gibblets, Gibbs," she said smiling before turning to Timmi, "And I agree with Ziva. I would date that man in a heartbeat."

Gibbs rolled his eyes at their antics and turned to Timmi. "Thea, pull up that website," he said, handing her a piece of paper, "While you three were playing, Abby found out where our Lieutenant was the day she was abducted."

Ziva stared at the screen in confusion. "Speed dating?"

"There was an email invitation on her computer. It's a three day event and she went missing after the first day," Abby said.

"Gas station where Farris stole her SUV was two blocks from the hotel hosting it," Gibbs pointed out.

"So she wasn't screaming about being singled out by a guy," Tony said, understanding dawning on his face.

"She was talking about this," Ziva said, pointing to the screen.

"I've heard of V-S-O. Apparently they have an eighty-five percent success rate," mentioned Timmi.

"For what?" Ziva asked, turning to her.

Timmi shrugged. "For marriages."

"What about kidnappings, Thea?" Gibbs asked her, an eyebrow raised.

She smirked and said, "I'll work on getting a list of clients attending the event."

Abby shook her head. "I tried it. Their lawyers say the "Virginia Singled Out" is a confidential service. So they keep their client list under lock and key."

Tony stood. "Warrant. On it, Boss."

Gibbs shook his head. "Not enough time. It ends tonight."

"I can't tell you who is there, but I can tell you that it's the same guys from Sunday night. You want to know how I know?" Abby said dramatically, turning to Timmi and winking.

Timmi stood and they said together, "The V-S-O is designed to introduce successful men to a wide assortment of eligible women. Each night brings the promise of romance and a chance finding your soulmate."

There was a moment of silence as the three agents stared at the two women in shock before Timmi and Abby started laughing. "How do you know that?" Tony asked, aghast.

Timmi and Abby exchanged a long look before Abby said, "We went to one last year. It was actually really fun." Timmi nodded in agreement. "I met this really cute guy," she said, "But it didn't work out. Let's just say that 90 second dates are _not_ long enough to get to know someone."

"So the men remain the same, but the women change every night," Abby explained.

"Hey, we're doing this the old fashioned way. So Ziva, do you still think being a geek makes for a good cover?"

**NCIS**

"I don't understand why you won't let me do this!" Timmi exclaimed as she helped Ziva get ready.

Ducky eyed her sternly. "You know very well why! You are pregnant. That excludes you automatically. Not to mention, Jethro would go crazy if he had to watch you flirt with other men all night."

"... Why do you have to be so sensible?!" she cried, throwing her hands up.

"Do you really think he will come back for another woman, Ducky?" Ziva asked.

"No, no, no, no, no. I think he'll come back to avoid suspicion. I doubt you'll be in any kind of danger," Ducky said in a comforting voice.

Timmi grudgingly handed over a pair of thick framed glasses. "These are video-surveillance glasses," she explained.

"Good work, Timmi, " crowed Tony as he walked in.

Ziva examined herself in the mirror. "I look like a dork," she complained.

Tony gave her an odd look. "Yeah, that's the point."

Abby handed her a small, flat stick. "And this is a portable finger print scanner. It's wireless."

"And we'll know within a matter of seconds if the prints you collect match our mystery print from the SUV," concluded Timmi.

"All you have to do is get each date to press his right index finger here," Abby said, pointing.

"Really? Is that all, Abby?" Ziva said sarcastically, "How do you suggest I do that?"

"Improvise," Gibbs said as he walked into the room, "You'll figure it out."

**NCIS**

"But you've no right to arrest me," cried Ziva's date.

"You're not under arrest, Calvin," said Tony soothingly.

"Yet," spat Ziva.

"We just want to clear up a few things," Tony said, glaring at her.

"No one read me my Miranda rights," Calvin said nervously.

"That's because you're not under arrest," responded Tony.

"Yet!"

"Ziva!"

"Sorry!"

Meanwhile, in the observation room, Jenny and Gibbs were watching the interrogation.

"You should be proud of him," Jenny said softly.

Gibbs turned to her. "DiNozzo?"

"When you left, there were some rocky moments. He really held the team together."

"That's what I trained him to do."

Jenny shrugged. "I just thought you should know he excelled at it."

Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Then give him his own team, Jen."

Jenny sighed, "I tried."

Gibbs whirled towards her, but her next words made him freeze. "He said his family was in that bullpen and that as long as he had the option to work for you, that is what he'd do."

Gibbs turned away so she couldn't see his smile. "Then I guess that he'll be waiting on that team for a while."

**NCIS**

Hours later, after they had found and rescued their missing Lieutenant, they all sat in the bullpen, finishing their reports.

The silence was broken as Gibbs stood and walked over to Timmi. She looked up at him and opened her mouth, but he spoke before she could.

"Agent McGee, I was wondering if you were free tonight."

A smile slowly made its way across her face. "As a matter of fact, Agent Gibbs, I am free. But I have to know... Is this a date?"

"I was hoping it would be."

"Well then, Agent Gibbs," she said, standing and making her way around her desk, "You can pick me up at Casa de la Ducky at 8 o'clock." Their smiles couldn't get any wider as she handed him her report and walked out of the bullpen.

"Oh, and Jethro," she called from the elevator, "Shave that thing on your upper lip. I don't date men with facial hair."

Silence reigned again for a moment before Gibbs walked over to his desk and shut down his computer. "Uh... Boss?" Tony asked, "Where are you going?"

"To shave, DiNozzo. In case you weren't paying attention, I've got a date tonight." And with that final remark, he left the bullpen.

Tony and Ziva exchanged looks before shutting down too. "If we hurry, we can beat Gibbs to Ducky's."

"Why would we do that, Tony?"

"We've accepted Gibbs back, Ziva, but we haven't forgiven him. He broke Timmi's heart, and now, he has to go through us to get her back."

And the two agents made their way to the elevator, determined looks on their faces. They weren't going to make this easy for Gibbs... Not one bit.

***Sigh* It's done! **


	14. The Date

**Hey guys! No, this story isn't over yet! And the picture I described in the last chapter _is_ how I picture Caelen. Now his brother on the other hand...**

**I'd like to thank athenakitty, who, at this point, probably knows more about the sequel than I do! She's given me lots of good ideas and made me explain my story enough that I pretty much have the rest of the story planned out! Give her a round of applause! Take a bow, athenakitty! You've earned it.**

**And I must apologize to you all because this will be my last chapter for a while. You see, I'm not doing to well in school right now and I really need to focus on that, not my story. I'm so sorry, but when the next chapter comes then I'll be back!**

**Disclaimer: I live in the American Southwest, not California. I write fanfiction, not NCIS scripts. I have a huge crush on Timothy McGee, not Sean Murray. Put these three things in a pot, stir counter-clockwise, adding a clockwise stir once for every six counter-clockwise stirs. When the words 'She doesn't own NCIS' float out, you have your answer to the burning question, 'Does this author own the best show in the world?'**

When Ducky opened his front door to incessant knocking, he was almost thrown aside as Tony and Ziva stormed in and began searching every room. "What are you doing?" he demand, closing the door.

Tony's voice was muffled as he stuck his head into a bedroom so Ducky turned to Ziva who was going through his hall closet. "What are you doing?" he asked again. "We are looking for the perfect place to scare Gibbs," she responded.

Ducky's eyebrows shot upward at an alarming rate. "Wait... You're going to try scaring Jethro? Why on earth would you try to do that?"

Tony had exited the bedroom and answered. "Because, Timmi agreed to go on a date with him tonight."

"So?"

"So? Are you really asking us that?"

"Yes, Anthony, I am. I have to say that I don't understand why you just don't let it go."

Tony threw his hands in the air. "What I don't understand, is why you _have_ let it go."

"Because Jethro is trying, Anthony! I see that, Abigail sees that, and most of all, Timothea sees that. _That_ is why we have forgiven him."

Tony glared at him mutinously. "I have forgiven him! I just don't want him to hurt Timmi again!"

Ducky rolled his eyes. "Anthony," he said, "If you truly had forgiven Jethro, you would know that he would _never_ hurt Timothea."

"But he already did!"

"It was unintentional!"

"I don't care what you say... Ziva and I are going to put the fear of God in Leroy Jethro Gibbs."

"Good luck with that..." Ducky muttered as he walked away.

Ziva turned to Tony. "I do not think the fear of God will work with Gibbs, Tony."

Tony raised an eyebrow at her. "Then what do you suggest?"

"The fear of Timmi." And suddenly Tony's face resembled the Grinch's when he had a 'wonderful, awful idea!'

Ziva looked at him with wide eyes. "Are you going to be ill?"

Tony ignored her and yanked on her arm, leading her to Timmi's room.

**NCIS**

Ziva and Tony burst into Timmi's room, breathing hard. Timmi turned from the mirror, raised an eyebrow and drawled, "...Yes, please. Just walk right in. It's not like I could have been naked or anything."

Tony raised a hand in apology while Ziva verbalized hers. Timmi nodded, then turned back to the mirror. "Why are you both here?" she asked as she carefully applied eyeliner.

"Um... We were kinda hoping to put the fear of God in Gibbs." Timmi whirled around, mouth agape. "Are you insane?" she gasped.

Ziva glanced at Tony. "Yes, he is," she said, nodding vehemently.

"I don't think that you can put the fear of _anything_ in Jethro."

"Not even... You?" Tony asked, making Timmi pause.

"Hmm... Maybe..." she muttered.

Tony nodded excitedly. "See, I don't want him to hurt you so I figure, if you scare him enough, he won't."

Timmi frowned, turning back to the mirror once more. "He's not going to hurt me again, Tony."

Scowling, Tony muttered, "You're not the first to say that."

"You're right, I'm not," she said turning to him, "But I know he won't Tony. It's not just about me anymore. It's about the baby too."

"Do you really think that the baby is going to keep him from hurting you?" Tony asked, aghast.

Timmi laughed. "No, I really don't. _But_," she stressed, "He won't _want_ to hurt me. And that, Tony, makes a big difference."

**NCIS**

Gibbs absent mindedly straightened his jacket as he knocked on Ducky's front door. He knew he shouldn't be nervous, it was Thea after all. The one woman he hadn't managed to scare off yet, the only one who had stayed. Maybe that was why it was nerve wracking standing on a doorstep, waiting for his date like he was in high school again... He didn't want to scare her off!

He was broken out of his thoughts as the door opened and Ducky looked at him curiously. "Ah, Jethro," he said, "Do come inside. We've been waiting for you."

"We?"

"Oh, yes! You didn't think that you could get away with taking Timothea on a date without the entire world hearing about it, did you?"

"No," Gibbs replied as Ducky closed the door, "But I was kinda hoping."

Ducky laughed. "Well, Timothea is almost ready. She said she just had to find her shoes and then she'll be right down."

Gibbs raised an eyebrow in disbelief. "Really? So it's not going to take twenty minutes for her to show up?"

A feminine laugh answered him. "Really, Jethro?" Timmi asked, walking down the stairs. "We lived together for six months. Did I ever keep you waiting?"

Gibbs' didn't answer, mostly because he was too busy picking his jaw up off the floor. "My, Timothea," Ducky breathed, "You look absolutely stunning."

Timmi smiled and spun around once, offering a full view of her knee length green dress. She faced Gibbs and began to laugh at the look on his face. Tony and Ziva, who had quietly followed her down the stairs, both reached over and closed his mouth.

The sudden change in position shocked him enough to send him into action. Reaching into his jacket pocket, he pulled out a single red rose. Timmi stared at it wide eyed as he presented it to her, while Ziva grinned and tried to get a closer look. She accepted it and pulled it to her nose to catch a whiff of the scent. Timmi smiled at Gibbs and then handed the rose to Ziva.

She took his arm and walked him to the door saying, "This is going to be a very good date, Agent Gibbs."

"Wait!" Tony shouted, making the couple turn back around to find their friend acting the part of a disapproving father.

"What time will you be back?" Tony asked. Gibbs raised an eyebrow but replied, "2300 hours."

Tony shook his head. "You don't need her for five hours."

Timmi rolled her eyes, tugging on Gibbs arm. "You're not my keeper, Tony. You can't dictate how long he needs me."

Both men ignored her. "Okay. How's 2200 hours?" Gibbs asked him calmly, making Ziva's and Timmi's jaws drop.

Tony narrowed his eyes. "Acceptable. Where are you taking her?"

"To a restaurant."

"What restaurant?"

"None of your business, Tony!" yelled Timmi, as she grabbed Gibbs arm and yanked him out the door.

There was silence for a moment then Ziva turned to Tony and said, "You are an idiot, Tony," before walking away

**NCIS**

Out in the car, Timmi sat in silence for a moment before she turned to Gibbs. "Why did you encourage him, Jethro? He'll be insufferable for days now."

Gibbs calmly replied, "It was important to him, Thea. He took care of you while I was gone and he's still doing it. I can't fault him for that."

Timmi threw her hands exasperatedly into the air. "Men," was all she said before falling into silence once more. It wasn't an awkward silence by any extent, but a peaceful one. It wasn't unlike the ones that they had shared before Gibbs had left. No words were necessary, only looks and feelings.

As Gibbs pulled into the parking lot of a diner, making Timmi burst out laughing. "What?" Gibbs asked, smirking.

Timmi's eyes were full of mirth as she said, "You told Tony you were taking me to a restaurant. You lied through your teeth!"

Gibbs' eyes were sparkling with laughter as he replied, "I didn't lie, I just twisted the truth slightly," before getting out of the car, walking around it, and opening Timmi's door, holding his hand out to her. She took it gratefully and they walked into the diner together. Gibbs nodded at the hostess who smiled and said, "Hello, Agent Gibbs. Your usual table is ready for you."

"Usual table?" Timmi's eyebrows met her hairline. "What? They make great coffee," he shrugged in answer, making her laugh. They followed the hostess to a table next to the window which offered an excellent view of the parking lot. She put a couple of menus on the table and grinned as Gibbs pulled Timmi's chair out for her before he sat down himself

"How come you've never brought me here, Jethro?" she asked as a waiter waved to him, "You seem to have spent a lot of time here."

"I have... I guess I just never thought about it," he said slowly as a young man, about Timmi's age, sidled up to their table.

"Hi, Agent Gibbs! The usual?" he asked enthusiastically.

"Yep. What do you want, Thea?" he asked, making the waiter notice her for the first time.

His eyes widened comically as Timmi carefully perused the menu in front of her. "I'll have... The clam chowder, a ceasar salad, and decaf coffee," she said, and tried to hand him the menu. He took it absently, still staring at her with his mouth open. When he didn't move, Gibbs looked at him in concern that quickly turned to anger. He recognized the look. It was the one he had often seen on other men who met Timmi for the first time.

Thinking fast, he slammed his hands on the table making a loud sound that woke the waiter, who swallowed and quickly recovered. "Sorry, miss," he said, flirting, "I didn't quite get that." Gibbs' eyes narrowed as Timmi, oblivious to the waiter's flirting, repeated her order. The young man smiled at her before he ran off to the kitchen.

**NCIS**

Timmi laughed again, making Gibbs smile. He hadn't realized how much he had missed even just eating with her. It was almost perfect... Almost. Their waiter, who called himself Jeff, was making completely unnecessary stops at their table. Timmi was perfectly oblivious, as usual, but he could see it. And he was _not_ happy.

In fact, Jeff had dropped more than enough hints... Most of them not even hints at all! "Here's your bread; it's hot like me," he had told Timmi, who simply ignored him.

"Hey you two!" came the voice of one of the only people in the world that Gibbs loathed at the moment. Timmi looked at him in surprise. "Jeff! We've been seeing you a _lot_ tonight. You must not be having a busy night."

"Na... It's pretty slow. But, here's your bill, Agent Gibbs." Gibbs was rather unhappy to have the piece of paper shoved in his face, but it didn't show. He quickly pulled a wad of cash out of his wallet and left it on the table while Jeff and Timmi chatted before he stood up.

"Thank you, Jeff," he said icily before he went to help Timmi out of her chair, but Jeff beat him to it. Timmi turned wide eyes to Gibbs as Jeff tried to help her. It seemed that she had finally caught on to the advances of their waiter. As she stood up, she paused in shock before turning around and asking in a dangerous voice, "Excuse me, did you just touch my ass?"

Gibbs' growled and moved forward to kick Jeff's ass, but Timmi beat him to it. She slapped him as hard as she could before kneeing him in the crotch. She left him on the floor and confidently walked out of the diner.

Jeff groaned from the floor, "Dude... She is so hot!" he looked at Gibbs, "Can you give me your daughter's number, Agent Gibbs?"

"Um... Her?" he asked, pointing to the doors. At his nod, he crouched down next to him. "You've always been a good waiter whenever I've come here, Jeff, but tonight... You weren't. So no." And he stood up to walk away, but after a few feet, he paused then turned back.

"And Jeff? That wasn't my daughter. That was my pregnant girlfriend." And with that, he walked out of the diner, leaving it eerily quiet. He got into the car after pausing and looking back long enough to see Jeff get attack by almost every woman in the diner.

"You alright?" he asked Timmi who had been waiting in the passenger seat.

"Yeah... Please tell me you kicked his ass," she pled.

Gibbs laughed. "I didn't have to."

"Why not?"

He smirked and said, "Girl power."

**NCIS**

A few hours later, after eating ice cream on a park bench, they stood on Ducky's doorstep. "I had a great time tonight, Jethro," Timmi whispered, her lips inches from his.

He murmured something unintelligible and went to kiss her but was rudely interrupted when Ziva's car turned onto the street and screeched to a stop inches from Gibbs' vehicle.

"There will be no kissing on this doorstep tonight!" bellowed Tony as he dove out of the passenger side. Ziva rushed from her side of the car to join him standing on the sidewalk, glaring at the couple. "Wait... You let Ziva drive?" asked Timmi, bewildered.

"I had too! Do you have any idea how many restaurants there are in Washington DC?!" Tony exclaimed

"Wait... Were you planning on crashing our date?" Timmi gasped.

"... So what if we were?"

Timmi's hands clenched into fists of rage for a moment before they relaxed. "Tony? Ziva? Will you please go inside? I need to speak to Jethro alone for a moment. And no, Tony, I won't kiss him on the doorstep."

Grudgingly, the two agents nodded and went inside. The door had barely closed before Timmi exploded. "What the hell is wrong with them?! Why do they think what we do is any of their business?!"

Gibbs let her rant for a minute or so before he pulled her into his arms, calming her almost instantly.

"They just have your best interests at heart, " he told her softly.

She sighed. "I know... But they're treating me like I'm a little kid!"

"... I'm not."

A smile graced her face as she laid her hands on top of his. "You never have. You've always trusted me to act like an adult and make my own decisions."

"It's not like I've had much of a choice," he responded wryly.

"... So what should I do for revenge?" she asked a moment later, making him laugh. "... I don't know. But I need them in working condition on Monday."

She broke free of his hold and led him onto the sidewalk before turning and giving him a soft, sweet kiss.

"I make no promises," she breathed, her lips brushing his.

"I thought you told Tony that there wouldn't be any kissing on the doorstep," he murmured.

She pulled back, much to his disappointment, to grin at him. "Oh, Jethro. That's why I moved onto the sidewalk."

**Enjoy this chapter! Remember, this is the last one for a while. On the bright side (for me), I'm going to Vegas this weekend! Yay, me!**


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